Griffin Hospital - Hospital innovators 2007

Location: Derby, CT Website: www.griffinhealth.org [1] What they're doing: In an industry dogged by scary turnover rates, particularly among key staffers like nurses, it's rare to see a hospital where employees rave about their jobs. But it seems to come naturally at Griffin Hospital, a 160-bed non-profit that has been named to Fortune Magazine's prestigious "100 Best Companies to Work for in America" list for eight years running. The hospital's CEO, Patrick Charmel, attributes staff happiness partly to a nurturing environment fostered by its commitment to the Planetree model, which helps to create a warm environment for staff as much as patients. (For example, staff have access to daily free massages from Planetree therapists.) But he also believes that the hospital's high patient satisfaction rates, sitting at 97 percent over the previous five years, are a significant factor in keeping staffers content. As he sees it, high patient satisfaction scores give employees a feeling of accomplishment, while happy employees make patients feel at home, the kind of virtuous cycle every CEO would like to foster. Griffin's benefits, while intelligent, aren't that unusual—mostly standard fare such as cash bonuses for top performers—but its collaborative, friendly environment is decidedly special.