Lauretta M. Eno, RN, had an idea. It was the early 1970s, a time when it was as challenging to recruit and retain nurses as it is today. Miss Eno, as she was known, was a senior administrator at Blessing Hospital. Her idea was to open an employee child care program to recruit nurses by offering them peace of mind in the care of their children as they worked.
The idea led Blessing Hospital to success as a regional healthcare provider and made history, too.
The child care program at Blessing began on February 19, 1974, making it the first hospital in Illinois to establish an on-site employee child care center. Fifty-years later, the program is known as The Blessing Lauretta M. Eno Early Learning Center, or ELC for short. It offers a nationally accredited early childhood education curriculum, helping it to continue to be successful in the original mission - recruiting and retaining employees to meet the needs of Blessing Health patients by caring for their children to provide them peace of mind as they work.
“We use the ELC as one of our top recruitment/benefit callouts, as it is so unique and so needed,” said Brittany Weise, M.A., Workforce Development & Marketing Coordinator, Human Resources, Blessing Health.
“I have not considered leaving Blessing because of the amazing child care,” said Nicole Gilliland, manager, Diagnostic and Imaging. “I cannot imagine finding a better place for my children. The program is flexible with my schedule and the Center is always able to take my kids when I need to come in to work. “
Employees pay a fee to use the ELC.
50 years of growth spurts
As hospital and community health needs grew, so did the ELC. In 1974 it was licensed for 25 children and occupied a portion of one floor of the hospital’s administrative wing. Today, the ELC is licensed for 396 children ranging in age from six weeks to 12-years-old and operates from its own building on the hospital campus with 20 classrooms and four age-appropriate playgrounds. It has a staff of more than 100.
“The hours of operation are a unique feature of our center,” said Michelle Zech, Chief Human Resources Officer, Blessing Health, and senior administrator responsible for the ELC. The center is open from 5:30 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., seven days a week including all holidays except Christmas Day.
“We are a huge asset to those who need us on weekends and most holidays,” Michelle continued. “The child care centers I have been responsible for at other healthcare systems have not been open on weekends or holidays. But hospitals are open on weekends and holidays and employees are working and need care for their children so they can care for our communities.”
The ELC’s other big benefit
In addition to praising the exceptional quality of care provided and the peace of mind it gives them during their work day, moms say the education provided by ELC staff to the children prepares them well for school.
“My kids were leaps and bounds above where I expected them to be when it came time for kindergarten,” said Liz Hoffman, a 14-year Blessing employee with two children in the ELC program. “Their teachers even said, ‘We can tell that your kids went to Blessing because they are so prepared.’”
“In preparation for sending our daughter off to kindergarten it was easy to see how much the Blessing Early Learning Center impacted her development – academically, socially, and emotionally,” added Ashley Kirlin, RN.
The secret to success
The ELC has been blessed with committed leadership. Current Program Director Karen Mosley has been on the staff since 1987 when she started as a teacher. Today, she holds a Master’s degree in Education with an emphasis in Early Childhood Leadership. Karen is the fifth program director in the ELC’s 50-year history.
In addition to an exceptional staff throughout the years caring for and educating employee’s children, Karen identifies two other ingredients to the program’s half-century of success.
“We have always had the support of senior leadership and Blessing’s board of trustees,” she said. “We have strong leaders who invest in their employees.”
“We have also had strong, visionary leaders within the ELC, leaders who have looked at future trends in the early learning field, and adapted and expanded to keep up,” Karen concluded.
For parents and children, ELC teachers are the face and heart of the program, teachers like Dodie Kaylor, a 34-year member of the staff. She credits her career longevity to appreciating Blessing as an employer and to the honor of providing peace of mind to Blessing employees and helping shape the lives of their children.
“It’s the passion that I have for children, wanting them to grow and thrive in all that they can,” Dodie said.
As most parents understand, Dodie added that having patience helps in her career, too.