Worcester Business Journal

6 Giving Guide 2026 Worcester Business Journal www.wbjournal.com F or years, nonprofits have responded to the effects of childcare shortages. Now they're trying to solve the underlying cause of one of the greatest workforce challenges: access to quality childcare. In doing so, these organizations are redefining what economic development looks like — and demonstrating that childcare is no longer simply a family issue. It is business infrastructure. When employees at Gardner-based Heywood Healthcare repeatedly called out, arrived late, or le work early, hospital leaders thought they had an attendance problem. A closer look revealed something else. Aer talking with employees and digging into workforce data, the Human Resource office found the overwhelming majority of those disruptions traced back to one issue: access to affordable childcare. It is a longstanding problem exacerbated by the 2020 COVID pandemic. Parents couldn't find care when a daycare closed unexpectedly. Grandparents who had been providing free childcare became ill. Employees working early morning, overnight, and weekend shis struggled to find providers with hours matching hospital sched- ules. e consequences extended far beyond these employees. Delayed room turnovers slowed patient admissions. Sterile processing shortages delayed surgeries. Nurses stayed beyond the end of their shis. Among surveyed employees, 48% reported taking unexpected time off because of childcare challenges, while nearly one-third said they had le work early. "When those people cannot come into work, it has a profound impact," said PHOTO | ADOBE STOCK AI GENERATED BY ALEX Vacant classrooms in Guild of St. Agnes centers came online this year as incubator space for growing childcare businesses BY EMILY MICUCCI | Giving Guide Editor Nonprofits partner to solve an economic problem: CHILDCARE Minerva Caba and Eva Farjado at the FCSP ribbon cutting PHOTOS | COURTESY OF SEVEN HILLS FOUNDATION

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