Reversing a closure plan announced in July, Hackensack Meridian Health plans to continue providing child care services for employees at six New Jersey hospitals, including Riverview Medical Center in Red Bank, according to a news report.Executives at the 17-hospital nonprofit said they will “keep the facilities open for this school year and beyond and turn its attention to hiring staff,” according to a report by the Asbury Park Press Tuesday.
The decision followed “a backlash from parents and employees, suddenly faced with the dilemma of finding alternatives, [which] caused executives to reconsider,” according to Press reporter Michael Diamond.
Robert Garrett, chief executive of the healthcare giant, told employees via email in early August that the company was “committed” to keeping the centers open. But a letter sent to parents Monday by executive vice president Linda McHugh “gave the most definitive statement yet that the company would keep its child care centers,” according to the report.
The move could spell higher tuition costs at the centers, which are open to employees at a subsidized rate and the community at large, according to the Press.
Riverview’s child care services are provided in a powder-blue house on its East Front Street campus.
(Photo from Google Maps. Click to enlarge.)
