Inside Interwell Parental Leave: “Learn What the Company Offers and Use It”

At Interwell Health, our core values set us apart and enable us to deliver on our mission of reimagining kidney care. Our values reflect our commitment to helping patients live their best lives, as well as our commitment to uplifting our own team members. We believe we are better when we work together, and we approach all we do with joy and gratitude for each other and for the people we have the privilege to serve.

In keeping with our values, Interwell provides up to twelve weeks of fully paid parental leave to team members who have recently given birth, adopted a child, or are placed with a foster child. Sam Cornblath, director of marketing planning at Interwell, shares his experience planning for and returning from parental leave.

Q: How long have you worked at Interwell and how would you describe your role?

SC: I started at Interwell in December of 2022. In my role managing the operations and finances of the marketing team, I support our chief marketing officer to ensure that the team’s projects and initiatives ladder up to our overall company goals and objectives. I also oversee the marketing team project managers and all events that take place at Interwell Health.

Q: Congratulations on having your first child last year! What was your experience preparing for parenthood?

SC: With my role wearing many hats supporting the entire marketing team, it was a challenge to think about how my responsibilities could be distributed. My manager was very supportive when it came to thinking about my handoff by functional responsibilities.

Coming back, that planning process afforded me the opportunity to evaluate my role at Interwell and with my family and how I want to show up in both places. Together with my manager, we looked at my own growth goals and where there are opportunities for others’ growth and skill-building, too.

Q: How did you decide the best timing to take your leave?

SC: My wife and I decided I would take three weeks in August when Luca was born so I could be there for the birth and those first critical moments, and then take the rest of my time after her leave was over. We both wanted to maximize the amount of time we had with Luca. It was important that we spent time together as a family and we also wanted to experience him individually.

Three months for paternity leave is becoming more common but it is not the norm. Usually, the non-"primary” parent gets less time than the “primary” parent in most company policies. It was great that I had the opportunity to take a full three months.

Q: What was the best part of your time while on parental leave?

SC: Luca was six-and-a-half months old when I took over and I was with him until he was 10 months old. We didn’t think about it this way when we chose the timing, but I feel lucky that I got those months because he developed so much during that time — pulling himself up, cruising, climbing, babbling. In the Gymboree-type class we joined, I was moving Luca around during the first classes and by the last class he was doing the activities himself. Also, by the time I took over he was fully sleeping and on a nap schedule. (Thank you to my wife, Jenn, for handling the hard part!)

Q: How has the return to work been? How would you describe the culture at Interwell for working parents?

SC: Across the company, from our executive team to the people on the marketing team I partner with daily, everyone has been incredibly supportive. When I came back everyone asked how I was doing and about Luca, and of course everyone wanted to see photos. People were happy to have me back, and also happy that I took the full time.

Q: Were there any specific benefits you took advantage of during your leave or return to work?

SC: We have a leave management platform called Cocoon that makes the process to request parental leave simple and easy. It also sends email reminders to your personal account on things to check in on leading up to your return to work. It was a helpful tool for someone who had never done this before.

We also have a benefit through Carrot which includes fertility resources and extends to pregnancy and postpartum support. We used it to have a postpartum doula come three times a week to support us for the first six weeks after Luca was born. She came at night to help us with night care and feedings so we could catch up on sleep. Her tips and tricks were invaluable to us as first-time parents.

Q: What is your advice for other new or soon-to-be parents?

SC: My advice for people who are thinking about or about to become new parents is to change your expectations. This little one is going to change you, and that change is good, but change is always hard. Give yourself and your partner grace and space. You are a team, and you need to support each other.

My other advice is to learn what the company offers and use it. That time with your kids is important and you will never get it back.

For more information on career opportunities and benefits at Interwell Health, visit our careers page.