University of Virginia Health System

U.VA MEDICAL CENTER HOSTS GRAND OPENING OF NEW EMPLOYEE CHILD CARE CENTER

Opening festivities will include tours of the state-of-the art facility, face painting, refreshments, a visit by McGruff, the crime dog, and a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 6:15 p.m. The public is invited to attend.

Cole, who was a life-long advocate for children, was the director of the Medical Center's Child Care Center, previously located at the Blue Ridge Hospital, for nine years before his death in January, 1999. He served as president of the Virginia Association for Early Childhood Education and the Virginia School-Age Network, and was actively involved in the Action Alliance for Virginia¹s Children and Youth. During his tenure at U.Va., Cole doubled the number of children served, created a scholarship fund for families unable to afford the full cost of child care, and introduced a summer school-age program.

Malcolm Cole was well known throughout the state as a leading spokesman and ardent crusader for higher standards of child care, said Dr. Robert W. Cantrell, vice president and provost of health sciences at U.Va. Naming the center for him is, in some small way, our way of thanking him for his years of service to the Medical Center and its employees' children.

The new center contains 15,000 square feet and will accommodate 170 children from infants to pre-schoolers. It is surrounded by an adjacent 11,000 square foot play and parking area. The center also provides a separate space for sick children with a separate air flow to prevent the spread of infections to the rest of the center. It will be staffed by a nurse. The location, just two blocks from the Medical Center, was chosen to make it easy for parents to visit their children during breaks and lunch, Cantrell said.

For additional information about the Grand Opening, please contact Kirsten Katzenbach at 924-2197.

May 25, 2000