Retention: Empower Your Employees

Support your staff and engage employees to improve retention and reduce burnout.

Published Feb. 24, 2026|

Research shows that keeping staff is more cost-effective than finding them, and happier employees are more productive and engaged. Learn new ways children’s hospitals and health systems are engaging their employees, reducing burnout, and enhancing fulfillment and well-being.

About Children's Hospital Association

Children’s Hospital Association is the national voice of more than 200 children’s hospitals, advancing child health through innovation in the quality, cost, and delivery of care.

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Rethink Retention

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4-Day Workweeks Ease Burnout for Nursing and Respiratory Staff

Find out how an extra day off increased job satisfaction to 96% for nursing and respiratory leaders.

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Solutions to the Pediatric Respiratory Therapist Workforce Shortage

Children’s hospitals have developed replicable strategies to address the growing need for pediatric respiratory therapists.

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How to Build a Virtual Nursing Program

Three hospitals outline how virtual nursing is making a difference for their workforce and patients.

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5 Programs to Improve Employee Retention

These workforce initiatives have proven effective at reducing staff turnover at children's hospitals.

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Unprecedented Solutions for Unprecedented Times

How one children's hospital is reducing nursing turnover with sabbaticals and other creative initiatives.

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Retention Strategies: How Two Hospitals Are Adapting to Today’s Workforce

Flexible scheduling and career models have improved retention at these children’s hospitals.

Cultivate Careers

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A Guide to Career Ladders for Radiology Techs

Career ladders help reduce vacancy rates by keeping staff motivated and engaged and making the job attractive to those entering the workforce.

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Respiratory Therapist Career Ladders

Children’s hospitals are bolstering staff retention by rewarding therapists who go above and beyond.

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This Certification Course Increased Retention for Behavioral Health Staff and Outcomes for Patients

After developing an in-house certification program, behavioral health staff turnover fell by half, patient restraints decreased by 44%, and employee engagement skyrocketed.

Ensure Well-Being

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A Well-Being Program for the Whole Person

A multi-pronged approach meets the physical, psychological and emotional needs of employees.

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Stress First Aid: Peer Support for Emotional Health

A military first aid method helps hospital staff recover from stressful events.

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A Tiered Response Model for Behavioral Escalations

A scalable strategy brought consistency across hospital sites and improved results.

Improve Operations

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How to Get Rid of 'Senseless Stuff' at Your Children's Hospital

This formal process empowers staff members to create solutions to everyday problems, making room for things that matter and improving the employee experience.

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Using Quality Improvement to Reduce Burnout

A novel collaboration between the well-being and continuous improvement teams teaches associates to identify and remove waste from their daily work.

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Health Care Robots: Staffing Strategy of the Future

Health care robots relieve hospital workers of simple duties, freeing them to focus on higher-level tasks.

Foster Resilience

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A 5-Minute Routine to Build Lasting Resilience

This 7-step process aims to eliminate stress at its source and build resilient individuals and teams.

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How to Foster a Thriving Workforce

Two children’s hospitals are achieving great results using a practical framework for employee engagement.

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The Four Pillars of Resilience

Help employees mitigate burnout by cultivating change at the team level.

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Solutions for a Sustainable Workforce

Learn how children's hospitals and health systems are addressing workforce challenges through innovative initiatives and sustainable strategies.

Feb. 20, 2026
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Recruitment

Learn innovative approaches to recruit and bolster the pediatric workforce now and into the future.

Feb. 24, 2026
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Innovation

Prepare for the next generation of pediatric health care workers with inclusive, data-informed strategies.

Feb. 24, 2026
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Solutions for a Sustainable Workforce

Learn how children's hospitals and health systems are addressing workforce challenges through innovative initiatives and sustainable strategies.

Feb. 20, 2026
large card/cht_workforce_stronger_workforce0324

Recruitment

Learn innovative approaches to recruit and bolster the pediatric workforce now and into the future.

Feb. 24, 2026
large card/cht_workforce_invest_future0324

Innovation

Prepare for the next generation of pediatric health care workers with inclusive, data-informed strategies.

Feb. 24, 2026