Under long-awaited clear, blue skies Tuesday morning, leaders from two Central Virginia nonprofit organizations broke ground on a structure that will one day house child care services for the medical personnel working in the hospital next door.
Sentara Health, in collaboration with the Piedmont Family YMCA, has begun construction on a 13,250-square-foot facility that will boast three playgrounds and multiple classrooms adjacent to Sentara’s Martha Jefferson Hospital on Pantops outside Charlottesville.
The Early Learning Center will be open to the children of Sentara Martha Jefferson employees ages 6 weeks to 5 years. There will be capacity for 148 children at the future center.
“With the Sentara Martha Jefferson Early Learning Center, we are taking a significant step toward helping our team members balance their work and family responsibilities, knowing their children are nearby in a safe, supportive, and nurturing environment,” Paul Gaden, president of Sentara’s western region, which includes Martha Jefferson, said in a statement.
Expected to come open next September, spots in the child care center will first be offered to the 1,600 staff members in the 176-bed Martha Jefferson Hospital before being made available to other first responders and the greater Charlottesville community.
While Sentara Health allocated the parcel of land and $10 million to fund construction, the Piedmont Family YMCA will be overseeing the day-to-day operations of the center, given the organization has plenty of experience in the realm with its own early learning center, after-school programs and camps.
“The Piedmont Family YMCA is committed to high-quality early childhood education programs in our community from birth through preschool,” Jessica Taylor, the local YMCA’s CEO, said in a statement. “We are excited to partner with Sentara Martha Jefferson Hospital on an Early Learning Center to support the childcare needs of healthcare employees and the community at large.”
Once online, the Early Learning Center will be open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. daily during the week, but it will also provide extended hours for those working early morning or evening shifts.
Gaden noted that close to 2,000 children in the Charlottesville area are in need of high-quality child care. While the Early Learning Center will not be able to accommodate the entire community, it’s a step in the right direction to assist employees struggling to maintain a work-life balance, he said.
“At Sentara, as a nonprofit and mission-driven healthcare system, we’re deeply committed to the communities we serve,” he said. “And we understand that in order to provide the best care to our community, we need to take care of our team.”
In order to financially support the continued operation of the child care facility, the Martha Jefferson Hospital Foundation is launching a campaign to establish a $5 million endowment fund.
Source: www.dailyprogress.com
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