Children's Hospital of Philadelphia named America's best large employer by Forbes

Children's Hospital of Philadelphia's efforts to support its more-than 15,000 employees amid the COVID-19 pandemic has earned the pediatric health system national recognition.

CHOP took the No. 1 spot on Forbes' 2022 list of "America's Best Large Employers" that was published Thursday, moving up 39 spots from last year's rankings. Large employers are defined by the magazine as companies with at least 5,000 employees.

• MORE NEWS
• South Jersey bike shop Beacon Cycling to close with retirement sale after decades in business
  
• Man allegedly killed woman, decapitated her with machete inside Clifton Heights apartment
  
• Fanta Bility's family 'appalled' by Delco firefighters' racist remarks
  

In giving the top ranking this year to CHOP, the publication pointed to the health system's initiatives to help address employee burnout caused by the public health crisis. 

Among CHOP's efforts have included providing workers with more scheduling flexibility, hiring retired nurses and offering subsidized child care through the YMCA, Forbes said. The health system has also set up a hotline and held town halls to address questions regarding COVID-19 testing, vaccines and returning to work and school amid the pandemic.

"Every single day, I know that something I do, and every person who works here does, is going to improve the lives of children and their families," CHOP CEO Madeline Bell told Forbes. "And that's a higher calling and I think keeps us all very united and very connected."

CHOP was one of five health systems to rank in the top 10 of Forbes' annual list this year. Here are the top 10 large employers in the U.S., along with the state or district where each is headquartered.

1. Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
2. Southern Company, Georgia
3. NASA, District of Columbia
4. Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York
5. Michelin Group, South Carolina
6. Sherwin-Williams, Ohio
7. Mayo Clinic, Minnesota
8. Carvana, Arizona
9. University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Texas
10. MD Anderson Cancer Center, Texas

Pennsylvania had 25 companies place on the 2022 list. Penn Medicine moved up from No. 90 to No. 43, and Vanguard jumped from No. 237 to No. 75. 

Visiting Angels, the University of Pennsylvania and IKEA are also among the state's top 10 large employers for 2022. Here are the 10 best large employers in Pennsylvania this year with their national rankings in parentheses.

1. Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia (1)
2. Penn Medicine, Philadelphia (43)
3. Vanguard, Valley Forge (75)
4. Visiting Angels, Havertown (182)
5. Sheetz, Altoona (183)
6. University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia (190)
7. University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh (212)
8. IKEA, Conshohocken (220)
9. Penn State University, State College (222)
10. Howard Hanna Real Estate Services, Pittsburgh (231)

Other notable Pennsylvania employers that made the publication's list this year were Five Below (No. 247), Temple University (No. 275), Comcast (No. 320) and Wawa (No. 404).

New Jersey placed 20 employers on Forbes' list this year, with Merck, Johnson & Johnson and Rutgers University each cracking the top 100 nationally. Cherry Hill-based TD Bank came in at No. 8 in the state and No. 161 nationally.

Here are the top 10 large employers in New Jersey this year with their national rankings in parentheses.

1. Merck, Kenilworth (45)
2. Johnson & Johnson, New Brunswick (66)
3. Rutgers University, New Brunswick (95)
4. Chanel, Piscataway (107)
5. Realogy, Madison (115)
6. BMW Group, Woodcliff Lake (118)
7. Prudential Financial, Newark (160)
8. TD Bank, Cherry Hill (161)
9. Becton Dickinson, Franklin Lakes (194)
10. PSEG, Newark (249)

Forbes and market research firm Statista developed the publication's list of the 500 best large employers in the U.S. by surveying roughly 60,000 employees at organizations with at least 1,000 workers. The surveying was done in conjunction with Forbes' annual ranking of the best midsize employers in the country.

Survey participants graded their employers on factors such as working conditions, development opportunities, compensation and likelihood to recommend their workplace to a jobseeker.