Pediatric GI-Nutrition Fellowship | Benefits for Fellows

Interns, residents, and clinical fellows who work at least 20 hours per week may enroll in the Boston Children’s Hospital employee benefits program. Available benefits are summarized below. For additional information on benefits offered by Boston Children’s, please contact the benefits office at 617-355-7790, email hresc@childrens.harvard.edu, or stop by the benefits office at 1 Autumn St, 1st floor.

Lease Guaranty Program: The Lease Guaranty Program is intended to help ease the pressure of the high cost of housing in the Boston area. If a landlord requires advance payment of the last month’s rent and/or a security deposit, Boston Children’s will guarantee payment to the landlord according to the lease guaranty procedure. In return, the house staff member agrees to reimburse Boston Children’s for any payment Boston Children’s is required to make under this guaranty. Please contact the benefits office or your residency/fellowship coordinator for more information.

More on the Lease Guarantee Program

History: The Lease Guarantee Program was created to remain competitive with other local teaching hospitals’ offerings to residents/fellows

Purpose: To ease the burden of high housing costs in Boston for residents (including interns) and fellows.

How the program works: The landlord agrees to accept no more than $200 deposit from resident/fellow. In turn, resident/fellow authorizes Boston Children’s to deduct any fees (greater of up to two months’ rent or $6,000) from the resident/fellow’s paycheck should the resident/fellow fail to reimburse the landlord for costs exceeding the <$200 deposit. Reasons for costs may include breaking the lease, damages to the apartment, etc.

Eligibility: Residents/fellows who are salaried through Boston Children’s.

Lease guarantee procedures:

  1. resident/fellow requests information either through program director or the HR service center
  2. HR service center provides required documents to employee
    • Lease guarantee program documents Include:
      • Boston Children’s Lease Guarantee Program – Summary of Program
      • Indemnity and Salary Deduction Authorization – the resident/fellow’s agreement for salary deduction to reimburse Children’s Hospital Boston for any costs paid to landlord
      • Landlords Accepting Lease Guarantee – (note: residents/fellows are not limited to this list; any landlord willing to accept the terms is eligible)
      • Summary of Lease Guarantee Procedure – summary of required procedures, to be signed by resident/fellow to agree to the terms and conditions
      • Lease Guarantee Agreement – to be completed with landlord/residence information (to be obtained from lease) and sent to landlord for signature
  3. resident/fellow to submit following:
    • document demonstrating eligibility for program (e.g. acceptance letter into the program)
    • complete and sign indemnity and salary reduction authorization form
    • signed copy of lease guarantee procedure
    • copy of lease
  4. HR service center completes lease guarantee and sends two copies to landlord for signature
  5. landlord signs and returns one completed form to the HR Service Center within 14 days
  6. HR Service Center authorized representative signs and sends signed copy to landlord

Termination of guarantee: when resident/fellow no longer enrolled in the Graduate Medical Education Program. It is the responsibility of resident/fellow to inform the HR service center.

Questions: Please contact the HR service center at 617-355-7780 or via email to HRESC@childrens.harvard.edu

Taxi Voucher Program: Boston Children’s is committed to helping all residents and clinical fellows get home safely after working an extended shift. Any resident or clinical fellow at Boston Children’s who drove or biked to work and worked a shift of 24 or more hours is eligible to receive a voucher for a taxi ride home to ensure their safety and the safety of others. In addition any resident or clinical fellow who is leaving late at night when it is unsafe to walk or use public transportation is eligible to use a voucher.

Professional Liability Insurance: Clinical trainees are provided with professional liability coverage for the duration of their training and thereafter for any acts or omissions occurring during the training and within the scope of the training program. Clinical trainees are not covered to practice at other institutions unless they have written approval from their program director.

On-call Accommodations: Call for the GI fellowship is typically from home. However, if there are unforeseeable circumstances (inclement weather or staffing issues in a crisis), your on-call responsibilities will be determined by your training program. On-call rooms and shower facilities are available. A meal will be provided to you each night you are expected to sleep in the hospital.

Salary: For the academic year 2024-25, the first-year fellow salary is $88,702.  Fellow salaries typically increase each year of post-graduate year of training.

Vacation: Trainees in this program receive four weeks of vacation time per year. This time must be used by June 30 of each year; unused days will not carry over.