Augusta Health Childcare Center closing to public, will serve workforce only

Augusta Health, like most healthcare organizations nationwide, has faced significant workforce shortages. In many cases, one of the challenges facing parents is the lack of affordable childcare in the region.

When staff members, or potential employees, cannot find reliable childcare in Augusta County, it impacts the care provided by the hospital network.

To meet the growing demand of team members, Augusta Health is shifting its childcare center to only serve its employees. Providing employees with childcare options is crucial to the health system’s ongoing operations.

Currently, the Augusta Health Childcare Center, located on the Fishersville campus, accepts children from the public. However, the long waitlist of Augusta Health parents led the hospital to make this difficult decision.

The facility currently cares for 108 children; 37 families are not employed by Augusta Health.

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“We did not make this decision lightly. We recognize that parents in the community will be challenged to find new childcare resources, and for that, we are deeply sorry,” said Crystal Farmer, senior vice president and chief operating officer of Augusta Health.

“We felt it necessary to make this shift to ensure Augusta Health team members can receive the childcare they need to continue to stay in their roles and provide high-quality care to our communities.”

Over the next three months, the center, also known as Bright Horizons Early Education & Preschool, will transition to exclusively serve the Augusta Health community.  As of Feb. 1, childcare center classes will be open only to team members.

Families with children enrolled at the childcare center have been notified of this change, according to Augusta Health.

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