Complete the child-care survey to help assess needs

The leadership of UAB has appointed a committee to review its child-care program and provide recommendations and options for expanding facilities and services for children ages 6 weeks to 5 years. The first step in the UAB process is to complete a survey about child development programming, which aims to better define the need that includes the number of children and the features of the ideal program.

David Rogers, M.D., MHPE, senior associate dean for Faculty Affairs and Professional Development, and Jordan DeMoss, MSHA, senior associate vice president for UAB Hospital, are both serving on this task force given the importance of improved access to childcare everyone in UAB Medicine, including faculty, staff, residents and fellows. Click here to take the survey by Thursday, March 17.

“The results of the faculty engagement survey and the focused examination of drivers of faculty stress make it clear that lack of childcare is a major source of stress for faculty,” Rogers said. “We also hear from our departmental chairs and other leaders that better access to high-quality child development programming could greatly enhance their ability to recruit talented faculty.”  

DeMoss has been involved in trying to improve childcare for the graduate medical trainees for the last several years. “Our residents and fellows may be among the most vulnerable group of parents in the city. They typically have young children, need care immediately upon arrival and have no support system of family or friends when they arrive here for this phase of their education,” he said.

The task force is simultaneously exploring different ways that need is being met at other institutions and locally.  Members of the UAB Medicine community are encouraged to take the survey if they have an interest in child development programming.