May 22, 2013

Memorial Healthcare: Profile of a large company

Best Large Company No. 17 - Health Care

Lilly Rockwell | 7/24/2012

Frank Sacco and Lotsy Dotsy

CEO Frank Sacco and Linda Herbert, aka “Lotsy Dotsy” [Photo: Eileen Soler]

Memorial Healthcare prides itself in hiring employees who have good customer service skills. It’s not enough to know how to deliver a baby or administer a shot. “We are in the people business,” says Ray Kendrick, senior vice president of human resources and chief diversity officer.

In 1992, Memorial took the uncommon step of hiring a full-time clown at Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital in Hollywood. Linda Herbert, who had been volunteering as “Lotsy Dotsy” since 1986, entertains children, putting their minds at ease before surgeries. In some cases, she has become so close to families that she was asked to speak at funerals. “It is very unusual,” Herbert says.

Memorial is always hiring, given its growth and 7% turnover. Last fiscal year, it hired 1,225 people, a third of whom were nurses. During peer interviews, potential hires are given the chance to quiz current employees without supervisors nearby.

Also on FloridaTrend.com

Most Read Articles

Florida Business News

Small business loan guarantees growing
Small businesses in South Florida are on pace to receive more federally-guaranteed loans this year, a sign that the region's economy is on the upswing.
The tricky business of collaboration
Shaping a championship team where individuals play cohesively to pull off a win can be one of the trickiest jobs a corporate leader faces.

Keys flats fishing is big business

Fishermen who come to cast a line onto Florida Keys flats generated more than $427 million to the local and state economy in 2012.

Report: Florida among the cheapest states in spending per student

Florida spent $8,887 on each public school student in 2011, making it one of the lowest states in the nation for per-pupil spending.

Early Easter leaves Orlando hotels with April hangover

After four months of year-over-year growth, business dipped in April at Orlando-area hotels, likely because of an early Easter this year and the absence of a couple of big conventions in town.

Florida Trend Video Pick

Bonecrusher II arrives at Gatorland

Bonecrusher II arrives at Gatorland

Bonecrusher II arrives at Gatorland

Gatorland is adding more than 70 animals -- including a 15-foot American crocodile known as Bonecrusher II -- to the attraction after purchasing the creatures from the recently closed Everglades Wonder Gardens in Bonita Springs.

Earlier Videos

Ballot Box

Apart from remembering and honoring the men and women who lost their lives in military service, do you have any plans for the extended Memorial Day weekend?