Hello everyone! We're making incredible progress. Leadership is definitely hearing us. We had an amazing show of support last night at the HUMC Annual Public Meeting. These are legally required meetings staffed by hospital executives, which are open to the public. They begin with a "state of the union" from the President/CHE, but end with an open Q&A.
EVERY SINGLE PERSON THAT SPOKE IN THE Q&A was a concerned parent, team member, or community member sharing their feelings about the decision to close the daycare program - save for one physician who was trying to throw them a lifeline (but also kind of sounded like he agreed with our movement!) The courage everyone showed during that session was inspirational!
Since these are public meetings, anyone can attend. Team members, community members, news/media outlets... all you must do is register. They send the link for the virtual meeting via email shortly before it begins. Below I have the details for all of the upcoming campus meetings... I suggest that everyone register. The Q&A was powerful, and we should keep that stride! If you've already spoken... don't be afraid to repeat yourself!
Another thing that came out of the meeting, which I found enlightening, was the dissimilarity between programs across the campuses. I suppose it shouldn't be a surprise, given we were all once separate entities. For example, some locations provide diapers, and formula, while others do not. Why is this important?
It highlights the NEED for a complete rework of the Early Childhood Education corporate structure. Feedback I have received from multiple sources indicates that there has been a real lack of unification, of executive attention, and policy/procedure coordination. It sounds like after some executive leaders left the organization, the daycare programs were really left to fend for themselves, and they've been struggling internally.
Our movement is to restore the Early Childhood Education programs indefinitely. But I think we need more than that:
1. HMH Corporate needs to take the program seriously. It needs an org chart with dedicated leadership. It can't be someone's side-project.
2. Practices, policies, and procedures need to be unified across all the programs. One of our concessions may be that diapers, formula, etc. are no longer provided. This would represent a cost savings for the program. Other cost savings to be explored...
3. Staffing needs to be corrected and salaries reassessed to align with market value. This will also include transparency in scheduling and a focus on work/life balance.
One of our other concessions, which many have stated, could be a tuition increase to offset some of the financial hardships HMH (a multi-billion-dollar organization?) has claimed as a roadblock to the continuation of the program.
I am so impressed with the way everyone has been able to inject heartfelt emotion into their communications, while also remaining practical and poised. There was no shouting, no abusive language, and no conjecture on last night's meeting. I hope and expect that all the other meetings to follow the same trend! "When they go low, we go high!"
I also hope that we can continue to keep the rumor-mill at a minimum. A recent comment has popped up about the North Bergen site already being slated for demolition, with permits applied for at the Bergen County Building Department. I hope this is not true. It would allude to a much more nefarious reason for closing the programs. "Tearing down paradise to put up a parking lot..." When posting and sharing tidbits of information, try to call out UNCONFIRMED vs. CONFIRMED information - and cite sources whenever possible.
Lastly, but still incredibly important... PLEASE continue to advocate, vocalize, and socialize this movement. Share it at safety huddles, team meetings, at the water cooler... everywhere. Provide the URL for the petition and Facebook Group. There are so many of our own colleagues who are still unaware of this decision, and I am certain they would support our movement. Keep sending those emails, especially to corporate executives as the email addresses are released. Mark Sparta, president/CHE at HUMC WELCOMED the emails. We need to extend our reach to everyone that was, is, or ever could be affected by the Early Childhood Education centers and the decision to destroy them!
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Here is the info for the upcoming public meetings:
SOMC – Public Meeting
TUESDAY, AUGUST 2, 2022 AT 5:30 PM
Register @ 609-978-3017
Anne.Green@hmhn.org
RMC – Public Meeting
THURSDAY, AUGUST 4, 2022 AT 7:30 AM
Register via email:
Anthony.Perry@hmhn.org
JFK – Public Meeting
THURSDAY, AUGUST 4, 2022 AT 3 PM
Register @ 201-519-1709
Angela.Wilson@hmhn.org
Bayshore – Public Meeting
THURSDAY, AUGUST 11, 2022 AT 7:30 AM
Register @ 732-739-5905
Kathryn.McHale@hmhn.org
Palisades – Public Meeting
THURSDAY, AUGUST 11, 2022 AT 10 AM
Register @ 201-854-5032
RBMC-PA – Public Meeting
MONDAY, AUGUST 22, 2022 AT 4 PM
Register @ 609-649-0806
RBMC-OB – Public Meeting
MONDAY, AUGUST 22, 2022 AT 6 PM
Register @ 609-649-0806
OUMC – Public Meeting
THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 2022 AT 6 PM
Register @ 609-978-3017
Anne.Green@hmhn.org
JSUMC – Public Meeting
MONDAY, AUGUST 29, 2022 AT 5:30 PM
Register @ 908-217-9776
Eric.Muench@hmhn.org