Cars filled with parents with many questions pulled into the INTEGRIS Health parking lot late Sunday afternoon.
Many, who told News 9 they wanted to stay anonymous for fear of job loss, said an email was sent at 8:30 p.m. Friday night from the company.
It announced The Children’s Place and Fun & Fit will end with August 14 of this year as the final date.
The email also invited them to a townhall at the corporate office on Sunday at 4:00 p.m.
One person who didn’t want to go on camera shares her reaction.
My immediate thoughts were my fear of what was going to happen to the staff,” said a mother who has been with the company almost a decade and has an infant in the program.
Another parent, also asking to stay anonymous, said a letter of reconsideration was submitted at the townhall.
It addressed many topics including:
- Oklahoma childcare shortages
- Lengthy waitlists for childcare
- The impacts it could have on the workforce if parents have to call out.
In a statement from INTEGRIS it says the facilities have been losing more than 1 million dollars per year.
As a not-for-profit health system, we must continually evaluate how we allocate resources to best advance our mission of partnering with people to live healthier lives.
Many parents say childcare is very difficult to find.
“We have long hours. We have early mornings and finding a facility that can fit those needs that you’re you feel like your child is protected and safe in is a big challenge right now,” added a News 9 source.
Our source also shared at the meeting on Sunday Head of HR Alison Peterson, said the following:
- 88 employees will lose their jobs.
- 355 children will be displaced.
- 192 of them are in the Fun and Fit care for older kids’ aftercare and summer program.
According to our source, the townhall was supposed to be live through the Teams app but four minutes before everything was to start, they experienced technical difficulties.
They did say other townhalls will be scheduled.