Competitive Benefits Without Paying Union Dues
To ensure we are competitive, Nationwide Children’s regularly reviews our total compensation and benefits package. Many of the positive changes, such as the recent decrease in insurance deductibles and increases to Paid Time Off (PTO) and Paid Family Leave (PFL) days, are the result of direct discussion and feedback from our employee engagement survey.
Health and Wellness
Lower Medical Plan Deductibles
As we recently announced, employees enrolled in Nationwide Children’s Hospital medical plans will have reduced annual deductibles in 2026.
Aetna Health Coverage
Nationwide Children’s Hospital offers two different medical insurance plans administered by Aetna. Both plans allow members to use health savings accounts (HSAs), health reimbursement accounts (HRAs), or similar medical payment accounts to pay health care expenses directly, while still having coverage for more costly medical expenses and standard preventive care.
Emotional and Mental Health Support through Lyra Employee Assistance Program
Employees and their dependents (age 6+) have access to 12 mental health coaching or therapy sessions per person, per year, at no cost. As the result of our ongoing benefits review, we increased the number of sessions from eight to 12 in 2024.
YOU Matter Resources
The YOU Matter Staff Support Program provides individual crisis intervention and support services. The YOU Matter team provides therapeutic clinical guidance and information on well-being, resiliency, and stress management to our team members.
Additional Life Management Benefits
Nationwide Children’s also has an onsite wellness center and provides additional benefits through Lyra, including legal and financial consultations as well as child, elder, and pet care resources.
Compensation and Financial Benefits
Merit Pay Increases and Market Adjustments
Nurses receive annual pay increases based on merit. Additionally, as a result of our routine compensation and benefits reviews, we have been able to provide market adjustments five times in the past four years. Combined with the merit increase, these salary updates have increased some nurses’ pay by 40–50%.
Contributions to a Health Savings Account (HSA)
Employees with an HSA will receive an annual contribution for single employees and for families from Nationwide Children’s.
Flexible Spending Account (FSA) Options
Nationwide Children’s insurance plans come with the option of creating an FSA, allowing you to use pre-tax dollars to pay for out-of-pocket medical, prescription, dental, vision and/or dependent care expenses.
Defined Contribution Retirement Plan
Nationwide Children’s provides a retirement program designed especially for you. Nationwide Children’s Hospital makes a four percent contribution to staff retirement plans and a five percent contribution after an employee’s fifth year on staff.
Tax-Sheltered Annuity Plan
In addition to the Defined Contribution Retirement Plan, Nationwide Children’s offers a Tax-Sheltered Annuity (TSA) Plan with a matched savings plan. This plan offers employees an additional employer match on your hard-earned savings for retirement.
Personal and Family Support
Paid Family Leave (PFL)
Currently up to three work weeks of paid leave for a primary caregiver. This will increase to four weeks in January 2026. This is in addition to the short-term disability benefit offered by Nationwide Children’s that provides up to six weeks of paid leave for standard delivery and up to eight weeks for a C-section. PFL may also be used to care for a spouse, parent or child.
Fertility Benefits
Up to $10,000 lifetime maximum for eligible fertility treatment through the WellDyne Prescription Drug Plan.
Adoption Assistance
Up to $6,000 lifetime maximum adoption expenses.
Time Off
Nationwide Children’s offers a paid time off “bank” that combines vacation time and sick leave to allow maximum flexibility for employees. This plan allows for our newest full-time employees to receive two full weeks off—even if holidays are taken out. Additionally, staff who work holidays receive holiday pay and continue to accrue hours in their PTO bank. And, PTO rolls over from year-to-year until you reach a rollover maximum.
Paid Time Off (PTO)
Nationwide Children’s Hospital offers 176 hours of PTO for new hires, 192 hours for employees with two to three years of employment, 232 hours for those with four to ten years of employment, and 272 hours for those with 11 years or more of employment. Full-time employees will receive an additional eight hours of PTO beginning in October 2025. Starting in January 2026, PTO accrual will increase to equal the additional eight hours. Part-time employees will receive a prorated amount based on their employment status.
Bereavement Policy
Full-time employees are eligible for 80 hours of bereavement time for a spouse or child, and 24 hours of bereavement time for other immediate family members.
Short Term Disability
Benefits-eligible employees will receive up to 17 weeks of short-term disability paid at 70% of their regular salary when off work due to a qualified medical condition.
Career and Professional Development
Tuition Reimbursement
Up to $4,000 per year for full-time employees with more than 1,000 hours of employment.
Professional Development
Nationwide Children’s offers many resources to help promote professional growth through various career pathways and opportunities. Our nursing team framed our nursing strategic plan to help guide how we will develop the practice of nursing in the coming years. Additionally, our nursing team has the flexibility to serve on committees that are focused on quality and safety improvements, research, professional development, culture and many other topics of importance to nursing practice.
Tuition Waivers
Staff may qualify for credits for tuition provided by individual universities and colleges of nursing that have contracts with Nationwide Children’s.
Scholarships
Nationwide Children's offers scholarship opportunities to nursing staff pursuing an advanced practice degree.
Employee Resource Groups (ERGs)
ERGs are employee groups that organize activities to promote networking, professional development, and community support among employees. Membership in any ERG is voluntary and open to all Nationwide Children’s employees.