Heywood Healthcare has secured a competitive state award through the Commonwealth Employer Childcare Innovation Fund to provide fully subsidized child care for employees with the greatest financial need, the Gardner, Mass.-based system said in a June 16 news release shared with Becker’s.
The nonprofit health system partnered with the United Way of North Central Massachusetts, the Community Foundation of North Central Massachusetts, and care-platform company Upwards to receive the grant from the Healey-Driscoll administration. Heywood’s internal data identified child care as a leading driver of absenteeism, turnover and recruitment challenges — a finding consistent with statewide data from the Economic Policy Institute, which puts the average annual cost of infant care in Massachusetts at $26,709.
“Access to affordable, reliable child care is one of the most significant challenges facing our workforce today,” said Rozanna Penney, president and CEO of Heywood Healthcare. “Too often, employees are forced to step away from the workforce because they cannot make ends meet.”
Through a platform operated by Upwards, employees will be matched with licensed child care providers based on location, schedule, and availability. The platform will also administer tuition subsidies and collect real-time utilization data to identify supply gaps. A private matching gift through the North Central Massachusetts Foundation supplements the state funding.
The initiative builds on more than three years of regional collaboration through the Employers & Childcare Coalition of North Central Massachusetts. Heywood Healthcare operates Heywood Hospital, a 134-bed acute care facility in Gardner, and Athol Hospital, a 25-bed critical access hospital.
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