Our 100 best firms are stepping up to help with everything from flexible work schedules and support groups to expanded health benefits and educational resources.
As a baby, Craig Ronowski was a healthy bundle of energy, and it was all his mom, Lori Key, a Marketing and Expense Specialist at First Horizon National Corporation in Memphis, could do to keep up with him. But a few days before his first birthday, Craig began to vomit repeatedly, and his temperature spiked to 104 degrees. Frantic with worry, Lori rushed him to the hospital. That’s when she got the news that would change their lives forever. “Craig was diagnosed with antibiotic-resistant meningitis. The doctors said he might never walk or talk again,” says Lori, thirty-eight. A week later, a shunt was implanted in his brain to drain excess fluid. “Suddenly, taking care of my son became as demanding as my full-time job,” she recalls. “As a single mom, I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to do both. And I was terrified that I’d lose our health insurance.”
When she told her manager why she’d need time off, he immediately put her fears to rest. Not only would First Horizon hold her job, but her health insurance would remain intact, too. “I was so grateful,” she says.
Lori is among an estimated one in twelve U.S. workers raising a special-needs child, according to research by Massachusetts General Hospital. And like Lori, they need support. Fortunately, many 100 Best Companies, such as First Horizon, Virginia Commonwealth University Health System, Booz Allen Hamilton, and Dow Corning, are lending a helping hand. These family-friendly firms are expanding health benefits, providing flexible schedules, granting leaves, and offering specialized day care and support groups—all to make caring for a special-needs child less stressful for employees.
When Lori returned to work following her leave, she was able to schedule her hours around Craig’s therapy, doctors’ visits, and subsequent surgeries. And she needed the flexibility: It took two months for her son to walk again, and four years for him to regain his speech. Then, at age thirteen, he was diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome and also required repeated surgeries to adjust his brain shunt. Throughout it all, First Horizon’s assistance never wavered. “That level of support is priceless,” says Lori.
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