The day care run by Johnson Memorial Health is closing after 30 years due to low enrollment.
Discovery Center will close at the end of this school year, though officials will be monitoring enrollment and staffing levels and could close the day care earlier if needed, according to a news release from Johnson Memorial Health.
The day care first opened in 1988 to provide childcare options for hospital staff and the community. For many of the years since, the hospital has helped fund the operations of the day care since the center didn’t bring in enough money to pay all its expenses, the release said.
But in the last year, enrollment has dropped, having an even bigger impact on the finances of the center.
The decision to close was not easy, Larry Heydon, president and CEO of Johnson Memorial Health said in the news release.
“Unfortunately, mounting financial losses associated with operating the center could not be overlooked given other pressures also facing the hospital in our current economic environment,” he said in the release.
“After many months of thoughtful consideration, we came to the conclusion that closing the day care was necessary so that we could remain focused on our top priority of providing quality health care to the people of Johnson County.”
Since last year, enrollment dropped from 74 children to 55 by June, which officials said was due to the day care relocating from the hospital campus to a building on International Drive. The day care moved to make room for construction of the new emergency room and outpatient center, the release said.
Thirty-one percent of the children enrolled at the day care have parents who work at the hospital, said Jeff Dutton, Johnson Memorial Health marketing director.
Families found the new location on the north side of the city to be less convenient than on the hospital campus, he said.
The day care had to close for about three weeks last year after a water pipe was leaking under the bathroom floor and testing found mold under the floor. Significant reconstruction and renovations had to be made to the building’s bathroom and kitchen. At the time, 65 children were enrolled.
Officials have created incentive programs to keep staff until the center closes to provide the best care for children at the day care, Heydon said in the news release.
