Do Hospitals Have Daycares For Staff Members?

Here’s the answer to whether or not hospitals offer daycare services to nurses, doctors, and other members of their staff.

I’ll also give you some considerations to consider when looking for childcare as a healthcare worker.

*Disclosure: This article on do hospitals have daycare for nurses and doctors may contain affiliate links. If you click and make a purchase, I may receive a commission. For more info, please see my disclaimer.

Do Hospitals Offer Childcare For Employees?

Yes, many hospitals offer daycare, but I don’t recommend using them. Those daycares may be more expensive than other daycares without much added perks. Plus, it complicates things if you ever decide to change jobs.

The Disadvantages of Hospital Daycares

So yes, it’s true that many hospitals (particularly big ones) offer childcare or are partnered with a childcare provider that can make finding childcare services for your child a little easier.

In my opinion, that’s where the perk ends.

I think there are a lot of issues that arise from using childcare services from the hospital you work out, particularly for direct patient care staff or those who don’t work “business hours.”

1. It Can Be More Expensive

I’ll start with the first issue I have with hospital daycares and that’s the cost of them.

As a “company perk,” I would think they would be competitively priced, and while that is true at times, other times it can actually be pricier than similar childcare.

2. It Can Still Be Hard to Get Into

Not everyone is guaranteed a spot, so just like other daycares, you’ll have to put your name on a waitlist and pray and hope that everything lines up.

3. Daycare Service Times Aren’t Any Better

Part of the issue many nurses, doctors, and other healthcare workers have with finding good childcare is working irregular hours.

Most daycares run some variation of 6 AM to 6 PM, which if you’re a healthcare staff that works anything other than a standard 7-3 shift, you’re in trouble.

It doesn’t matter whether it’s a 12-hour shift or a 10-hour shift those daycare times are not going to work for you. That’s without even talking about night shift employees.

With that said, you would think that a hospital that employs many people who work those hours would try to cater to that, but that’s not what usually happens.

4. It Makes Switching Jobs Harder

If everything else wasn’t bad enough, the worst thing out of all of this is the one thing that people don’t usually think about until it’s too late.

Switching jobs becomes more difficult when your employment is tied to your child’s daycare.

Switching jobs alone sucks, and many people stay at a job longer than they should, but can you imagine trying to change positions while at the same time trying to find a new daycare.

Can I Keep Using My Hospitals Daycare Even If I Quit?
Whether or not the childcare services will allow you to keep using them even after quitting your job will depend on the hospital’s policy.

Usually, this will be inconvenient for you to keep using their services afterward even if they allow it.

The Perks of Hospital Daycares

I don’t want to make this feel like there’s no benefit to hospital daycares because there are some perks.

I just don’t think the benefits outweigh the negatives.

1. It May Be Cheaper

Your facility’s childcare service may actually be cheaper than other daycare services. This is not always the case, but sometimes it is.

2. It’s Closer to Where You Work

Sometimes, that daycare may even be walking distances from where you work, making drop-off and pick-up very convenient.

If you’re breastfeeding or just want to run over and check on your baby, you can see how this becomes really convenient.

This is also a double-edged sword.

If you were ever to quit and they did allow you to keep using the daycare, the very act of dropping them off and picking them up could be very inconvenient because you no longer work there.

Something else to keep in mind is that if you take your PTO and just want to stay at home by yourself with no kids, it might not be convenient to drop off the child at daycare.

3. They Take the Money Directly From Your Check

I think this is a bad thing, but I know so many people struggle with budgeting that this is a way to be sure they’ll have enough money to pay for daycare.

This is not the case for every hospital daycare.

Key Takeaways

As a parent myself I know how hard it can be to find good quality childcare.

You can go here to start looking for childcare services in your area.

Have You Read These Yet?

• Do Nurses Get Called For Jury Duty?
• Should Nurses Treat Family and Friends?

Frequently Asked Questions