Little could we have imagined back in July, 2006 when Amy was diagnosed with breast cancer that a year later two friends would go on to found a non-profit dedicated to bringing drop-in child care to the hospital. Nor could we have imagined a better way to find our first hospital partner.
We met Dick Clark, Executive Director at Providence St. Vincent Medical Foundation, on the advice of a friend Paula Fasano. Dick had just transferred from Providence Portland where he had spearheaded the multi-million dollar fundraising effort to create a new cancer center. He and his wife had also just celebrated the completion of her cancer treatment. It was March, 2008. We expected Dick to advise us on how we might convince a hospital to create drop-in child care for patients’ and their visitors’ children. Instead Dick surprised us by saying, “I think it’s a great idea! You had me at hello. Let’s build it here!”
Dick introduced us to Alex Jackson, Associate Administrator at Providence St. Vincent Medical Center. As a father of two young children, Alex immediately saw the potential in our project, and joined our effort. The two became our biggest champions for bringing drop-in child care to the hospital to ease the way for patients and their families.
Soon after those first few meetings, Dick secured the foundation trustees’ commitment for start-up funds and Alex found a space that the hospital could donate. We developed a request for proposals and found a professional child care organization to operate the service. (We will announce the name of this fantastic partner soon.) A steering committee was formed.
In November 2009, construction permits were filed with Washington County for a 1,000+ square foot, sun-lit space on the main floor of Providence St. Vincent Medical Center. Once the permits are approved, construction will begin. We hope to open by Father’s Day, 2010, if not sooner.
Along the way we have met many extraordinary people who have joined this effort to bring drop-in child care to the hospital so that children can thrive while families heal. In particular, we want to thank two steering committee members, Tricia Sullivan and Christina Oakley, who have adopted this project as their own.
Thank you to everyone else who has joined us so far. Your support will help so many families enjoy the brightest possible futures together.
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