County’s 1st Day Care Center Inaugurated at County-USC

Gail Davis, a registered nurse, used to have a tough time taking care of her 2-year-old toddler while holding down a full-time position at County-USC Medical Center.

But Davis, a staff member in the hospital’s respiratory unit, said she is now breathing easier. As she assists physicians in performing tracheotomies and other emergency procedures, Davis knows that her son, Glenn, will be safely pedaling a tricycle, finger-painting or napping directly across the street from the massive public medical facility.

Glenn, a curly haired youngster, is one of 23 pioneer pupils at the County-USC Employees’ Child Care Center, which opened this month.

The gleaming new center, located on a former Marengo Street parking lot, is the first such facility available to county employees and one of the first government-sponsored child care centers in the nation, according to county officials.

With space for up to 75 children of hospital employees, the center offers day care from 6:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. at a weekly rate of $65.

“Before this, Glenn stayed with a sleepy daddy after he got home from working nights,” said the buoyant Davis, as her toddler frolicked in the grass under the watchful eye of a young center worker. “When someone’s half asleep, they’re going to miss something. So this is a blessing.”

Such enthusiasm was in ample supply Thursday, where the ebullient speakers at an official dedication included Board of Supervisors Chairman Deane Dana, Supervisor Ed Edelman and County Federation of Labor Executive Secretary William Robertson.

Dana, who earlier this year drew fire from County-USC employees during a bitter nurses’ strike, said the day care center is a plus for all involved.

“The evidence seems very clear--day care centers affiliated with the workplace are a solid benefit to employee and employer alike,” he said. “Day care centers give parents, especially working mothers, peace of mind for their children’s security. They also reduce absenteeism and tardiness and they enhance productivity.”

The new center, Dana emphasized, should also serve as a symbol to other government bodies and private businesses that have been reluctant to open their own facilities.

Notes ‘Important Changes’

“This is an acknowledgement that important changes have occurred in the workplace,” Dana said. “ . . . As one of the largest employers in Los Angeles County, it is the board’s feeling that we have a role to play as an employer and as a model for the community at large.”

Nurse’s union official Sharon E. Grimpe, who attended the ceremony, concurred with the politicians.

“It’s a terrific day for us,” said Grimpe, general manager of Local 660 of the Service Employees International Union. “If this is successful, then we may be able to expand the hours and the number of facilities. This is the wave of the future.”

Already, plans are afoot to open additional child care centers at other county-run hospitals, officials indicated.

The need is particularly pressing at public hospitals, said County-USC Executive Director Jerry Buckingham, where centers could serve as a recruitment tool to help solve continuing nurses’ shortages.

County-USC, with about 1,700 registered nurses, is currently 20% understaffed, according to officials.

Several private hospitals in Los Angeles County already offer day care service as a means of attracting nurses.

Elsewhere in the public sector, the city of Los Angeles has a Dec. 1 target date to open its first child care center, in conjunction with the federal General Services Administration.

City Hall South Location

The center, for 96 children, will be built in City Hall South to serve city and federal government employees working in the Civic Center area.

At this point, applications have been received from more than 260 city employees alone, including several women who have not yet given birth. The city-federal center is due to care for children from 3 months to 5 years old.

The County-USC center, for children 2 to 6 years old, is a freshly painted 4,000-square-foot portable building that was once used for the processing and storage of patient records.

With walls covered with pupils’ Rorschach-like finger paintings, sponge paintings, food coloring paintings, shaving cream paintings and pasta paintings, the center already exudes a homey, lived-in feeling.

Start-up costs were “a very nominal” $90,000 for refurbishment and equipment, according to county Chief Administrative Officer Richard B. Dixon.