2008 Health and Hospital Industry Best Companies

The Working Mother's Best Companies List identifies workplaces offering women the opportunity to excel at work and at home through the provision of programs, choices and support. With the 2007 list having revealed a noteworthy number of businesses within the Health and Hospital Industry, the 2008 list demonstrates a continuation of this ever emerging trend. Below is a list of those selected in 2008.

• Baptist Health South Florida


• Bon Secours Richmond Health System


• Bronson Healthcare Group Inc.


• Children's Healthcare of Atlanta


• Children's Memorial Hospital


• CJW Medical Center


• INOVA Health System


• Massachusetts General Hospital


• Mercy Health System


• Moffitt Cancer Center


• Northwestern Memorial Healthcare


• Pitt County Memorial Hospital


• Scripps Health


• University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics


• VCU Health System


• Wellstar Health System

Late this month the 2008 and 23rd Best Companies List will be celebrated in conjunction with the Working Mother's 2008 WorkLife Congress in New York City. Further, for the 1st time there will be an industry specific Health and Hospital Systems WorkLife Forum to explore best practices within this business sector.

Yoga: A "Healing Refuge" within Breast Cancer Care

In the October 2008 edition of Yoga Journal, Katherine Griffin authors a highly informative and inspirational article entitled "Healing Refuge". The tag line for the article reads, "For many women with BREAST CANCER, yoga offers RELIEF from the side effects of treatment while TRANSFORMING a sense of LOSS into an experience of WHOLENESS". The multi-faceted "Healing Refuge" weaves together insights from medical research, integrative medicine, yoga poses and a former hospital executive who is also a breast cancer survivor.

Rich with many resources to include e-mail subscriptions on food, wisdom, teaching and yoga practice, the magazine's website can be accessed at http://www.yogajournal.com/ .

Cancer Care: Complementary and Alternative Medical (CAM) Therapies

The Susan G. Komen for The Cure organization offers a free download entitled, "What I Can Do to Take Care of Me: Women Talk About CAM". The booklet describes CAM, how it can supplement a patient's cancer treatment/recovery and how to talk with your doctor. Quotes from breast cancer survivors are included. To secure this resource or choose from a vast array of gifts and educational materials, visit The Promise Shop at http://www.komen.org/ .

The promise of the Komen organization is "to save lives and end breast cancer forever by empowering people, ensuring quality care for all and energizing science to find cures". Having launched a global breast cancer movement in 1982, it has become the largest source of nonprofit funds dedicated to the fight against breast cancer in the world. This promise fulfillment continued to manifest itself through the 2008 grants portfolio with the unprecedented distribution of $100 million in grants to 81 universities and hospitals in 27 states and five countries. Designed to fast track research efforts with a strong eye on cancer patients who can not wait, the complete list of grants can be found at www.komen.org/grants .

National Breast Health and Cancer Awareness Month

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month (NBCAM), and the corresponding organization of 20 years has a stated focus of "encouraging women to take charge of their own breast health, by practicing regular self-breast exams, making sure to schedule an annual mammogram, adhering to prescribed treatment and knowing the facts about recurrence". This year-round resource which can be accessed at http://www.nbcam.org/ , is a working partnership comprised of national public service organizations, professional medical associations and government agencies. With the reproduction and distribution of all NBCAM documents being permitted, a visit to the site has the added benefit of providing wellness tools for personal, community and organizational education.