PORTAGE PARK — Nearly 60 Portage Park families are scrambling to find day care for their babies and toddlers after the sale of Our Lady of the Resurrection Medical Center forced the closure of the Bright Horizons Child Care Center.
Presence Health owns the building at 3522 N. Central Ave. but does not operate the hospital any longer. It terminated Bright Horizons' contract to operate the day care after Presence Health finalized the sale of the Portage Park hospital — now known as Community First Medical Center, said Tabrina Davis, a spokeswoman for Presence Health.
The center will close Feb. 27, leaving parents like Cathy Araos in the lurch.
"It was a shock to everyone," Araos said. "Most places in Portage Park have a three- to four-month waiting list. There's a little bit of panic."
Presence Health, which subsidized the child care center with free food and other services, said Community First determined it "no longer wished to continue to operate the Center or provide any subsidies for its operation," Davis said.
But Community First Medical Center interim Chief Executive Officer Dennis FitzMaurice said his firm had nothing to do with Presence's decision to close the day care center.
Araos, who serves as the president of the day care center's family partnership group, also expressed concerned about the day care center's 13-person staff, many of whom have worked there for more than a decade.
"This center is very much needed in the community," Araos said. "Closing it is ridiculous. It is not the right thing to do."
Araos said the center's staff helped her 2 ½-year-old daughter, Gracie, cope with some speech and developmental issues.
"Her teachers are amazing," Araos said. "She has received top-notch care."
Her son, 4 ½ -year-old son, Noah, also attends the center's pre-kindergarten classes.
Julie Kane, a spokesman for Massachusetts-based Bright Horizons, said the center's staff was working to help parents make new arrangements for their children.
Rachel Robinson, whose 15-month-old son, Otis, has been going to the center since he was 3 months old, said the decision to close the center was deeply frustrating.
"We're still looking for something," Robinson said. "There are not a lot of spaces out there."
The closure of the day care center touched off a frenzy on Facebook and EveryBlock, as Portage Park parents asked for recommendations for new day care options.
"We're all flooding the market," Robinson said. "Anywhere he goes, it will be less convenient."
Ald. Tim Cullerton (38th) said he was hopeful that another day care operator, which is looking for a new location, could take over the building, despite some issues with its roof.
Community First Healthcare is a "benefit corporation," which means under Illinois law, in addition to maximizing profit, it has "the increased purpose of considering society and the environment in addition to seeking a profit."
Officials with Community First, which paid $10 million for the 269-bed hospital at 5645 W. Addison St., said they plan to invest $20 million during the next five years "in the facility and its programs," according to documents filed with the state.
Presence Health announced in March that the hospital was being put up for sale after it lost $9.8 million in 2013 and $12.5 million in 2012, even after extensive cost-cutting efforts. Losses for 2014 were expected to reach $20 million, officials said.
For more neighborhood news, listen to DNAinfo Radio here:
