When Nidia moved from Florida to Houston for her nursing job at Memorial Hermann, she knew she was leaving her support system behind. What she didn’t expect was just how quickly her work-life balance would unravel. 

“My entire family is back in Florida,” she explains. “And my son was starting kindergarten. I was just having holiday on top of holiday on top of sick days or the half days, and I was constantly trying to figure out how I was going to provide care for my son. I was stressed to the point of tears.” 

For Nidia—and thousands of other healthcare workers like her—what happens outside the hospital walls determines whether they can stay inside them. And increasingly, the difference comes down to one factor: care. 

Why Are Nurses Leaving? 

Turnover in the healthcare industry has reached critical levels. More than one in three healthcare employees changed jobs in the last year, according to data compiled by Bright Horizons. For hospitals, the cost is staggering: the average price tag to replace a bedside RN is $56,000, and vacancies average 83 days, placing additional strain on remaining staff. 

Work-life balance is now a top reason for exiting the field. In a national study, 51% of physicians made a career change to improve work-life balance, while 48% of nurse leaders said it’s essential to job satisfaction—and when it’s missing, retention suffers. 

A major driver of imbalance? The 26 hours per week that many healthcare workers spend on unpaid caregiving. Nurses aren’t just managing long shifts and patient care—they’re also covering snow days, school closings, aging parents, sick pets, and more. And they’re often doing it without help. 

Healthcare employers are beginning to recognize the cost of doing nothing. Research shows that caregiving stress drives absenteeism, career setbacks, and workforce exits—especially among women, who shoulder a disproportionate share of the burden. 

But it’s not all bad news. The same research points to a solution: caregiving benefits have one of the highest returns on investment of any retention strategy. Even modest interventions—like child care stipends or back-up care days—can dramatically improve retention. One study found that retaining just 1% of employees thanks to better child care coverage can fully offset the cost of offering the benefit. 

At Memorial Hermann, Nidia discovered her backup child care benefit almost by accident. “I remember seeing the email from Bright Horizons all the time as part of the Memorial Hermann emails,” she said. “And one of them [showed a balance of] 20 days. I clicked on it and I read the program and I was like, ‘Oh my gosh.’” 

What she found was a robust network of over 20–30 child care providers in her area. “I was mind-blown that they would think enough of their employees to provide this type of support,” she said. “They provide a great work environment, they provide great salaries, they provide opportunities for advancement—and then they provided the child care benefit.” 

A Benefit Nurses Don’t Forget 

The results were immediate. “My work-life balance is in balance right now,” Nidia said. “I don’t have to worry about where my son is. I know he’s safe, I know he’s loving it, and I know I can afford it.”  

The takeaway is simple: When care needs are met, the impact extends far beyond staffing charts. More supported nurses means more filled beds, stronger teams, and better patient outcomes. 

Leading institutions are taking note, turning to on-site child care, backup care, and elder care navigation to keep top talent. “We are attracting quality people, and we are retaining them,” says Cory Jacobs, Executive Director of United Health Services Foundation. “Because they know if their children are here and happy in [our] child care, they’re not going to want to leave and go to another organization.”  

These aren’t luxuries—they’re part of a new blueprint for workforce stability in healthcare. At Weill Cornell Medicine, Dr. Rachel Simmons, Associate Dean for Diversity and Inclusion, put it plainly: “If you can’t have access to available, affordable, convenient child care, it really makes it difficult to attract and retain our faculty.”  

When nurses know their families are cared for, they can focus on caring for others. For HR leaders facing budget pressures and burnout headlines, family-focused benefits may be the most powerful lever they haven’t pulled. Health systems can offer great pay and a strong culture, but without care support, they risk losing their best asset: the people who care for everyone else. 

Want to learn how care benefits can support your healthcare team? Visit Bright Horizons Family Solutions or Get In Touch.