February 19, 2020: Armed Services YMCA Fort Bragg and Womack Army Medical Center open Children’s Waiting Room
FORT BRAGG, North Carolina — A new children’s watch service for military families opened in November at Fort Bragg’s Womack Army Medical Center in the OB-GYN clinic.
Children’s Waiting Room was developed by the Armed Services YMCA to allow Soldiers and their families to attend scheduled appointments without the costs and challenges of coordinating child care outside the hospital. This is the Armed Services YMCA’s 15th Children’s Waiting Room across the country.
“We are overjoyed the Children’s Waiting Room at Fort Bragg has been so well received,” William French, President/CEO of Armed Forces YMCA, said. “This program helps our service members and military spouses take care of their families and themselves and make better health care decisions when they aren’t challenged to find child care.”
Although Children’s Waiting Room officially opened in November 2019, a ceremonial ribbon cutting took place January 30, 2020. The opening was celebrated with hospital officials, Armed Services YMCA staff and volunteers, key stakeholders who made the program a reality.
Armed Services YMCA Chief Operating officer and Chief Programs Officer, Retired Rear Admiral Charlie Williams shared these remarks at the opening. “Without partnership we just cannot get done the things that we are doing for our military and for our families. The mission of the Armed Services YMCA is to Strengthen our Military Families. To provide means for them to become more resilient and enable more readiness. Any veteran out there has heard from spouses the challenges of going to the hospital with young children to meet their own medical needs. That’s why we started Children’s Waiting Room, to do just that.”
Col. John Melton, Womack Army Medical Center Commander, expressed the importance this program has on readiness in service members.
“When a
Soldier is not right at home they are not right at work,” said Melton, explaining that Children’s Waiting Room will help to assure beneficiaries are getting the medical care they need and that is one less thing for a deployed Soldier to worry about.
According to Melton, the U.S. Army creates temporary single parent households every day. The children’s waiting area will help to lessen the aggravation of getting childcare for OB-GYN appointments at WAMC.
Families will no longer have to miss an appointment due to the challenges of securing short-term child care. Children’s Waiting Room provides access to a free service designed to remove the burden of child care and ensure military families receive the care they need.
ABOUT ARMED SERVICES YMCA:
The Armed Services YMCA is a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit that serves currently serving military members and their families. In 2018, we engaged more than 225,000 people in our programs and delivered nearly 1 million points of services to junior enlisted Soldiers, Marines, Sailors, Airmen, Coast Guardsmen and family members at 200 service centers in 18 states. Whether providing respite child care for parents in need, summer camps for kids, or assisting with emergency needs, the Armed Services YMCA is a nonprofit with a mission: Strengthening Our Military Family. Visit our website to see how you can join us in supporting military families.
