ELY- A two-year-long effort to help solve a child care crisis for Ely-Bloomenson Community Hospital workers came to fruition last Thursday with the ribbon cutting at the hospital’s employee day care facility. The day care, located at 204 W. Pattison St., is walking distance from the hospital and is already at its capacity of 14 kids, according to Rochelle Sjoberg, EBCH’s human resources director. The day care had a soft opening in December.
The hospital started working on its child care project in early 2023. EBCH bought the current facility in November 2023 according to Sjoberg, who oversaw the project. The day care building was built in 2018 as a four-bedroom, three-bath residence meant as a residential care home. The project met its demise due the COVID-19 shutdowns.
But now it’s taken on new life. “It was an employee effort to decorate,” Sjoberg said. “It was a big team effort. The staff picked the colors and did a lot of the work on the inside. People really got into it.”
The interior beyond the entryway is open, with an area for eating next to a full-service kitchen. The former garage has been converted into a large inside playground. The facility also features a large, fenced and groomed backyard.
The day care will have two employees. The hospital hired Machelle Stepec as the child care team leader and is looking to add a second child care provider. “We hope to add a part-time employee at the end of this week,” Sjoberg said.
Ribbon cutting
The hospital held the ribbon cutting outside the day care’s front door for a crowd of just over 30. EBCH CEO Patti Banks, in brief remarks, praised the effort overseen by Sjoberg.
“Rochelle, your leadership, persistence and passion, carried this project across the finish line, “Banks remarked. “You saw not just the need, but the opportunity, and we’re largely here today because of your efforts.”
Sjoberg said the effort would make a difference. “I feel like this day care is a promise that we have kept to the people who make EBCH what it is. We know that when we take care of our people, they take better care of our patients. Today is one more way that we’re going to honor that commitment.”
Sjoberg added that the day care was part of the way the EBCH was working to stay competitive in attracting and retaining a quality staff.
“This day care is more than a convenience for our staff, it is a strategy in today’s health care world. We are all facing more retention challenges and recruiting issues. By making a day care space so that our working parents no longer have to face the pressures of child care, we can say, ‘we see you, we value you, and we hear you, and we want you here for the long haul.’”