Augusta Health’s childcare center, located on the Augusta Health campus in Fishersville, is transitioning over the next three months to exclusively serve Augusta Health team members, a press release from the hospital system announced Oct. 20.
“Like many healthcare organizations nationwide, Augusta Health has faced significant workforce shortages.”
Providing employees with childcare options is crucial to the health system’s ongoing operations, the hospital said.
“While the center had been open to the public, demand from Augusta Health team members has been growing steadily, with a long waitlist for Augusta Health parents looking to enroll their children in care,” the release said.
Given this demand, Augusta Health said it has made the difficult decision to focus on serving only Augusta Health employees.
“We did not make this decision lightly. We recognize that parents in the community will be challenged to find new childcare resources, and for that, we are deeply sorry,” said Crystal Farmer, senior vice president and chief operating officer of Augusta Health. “We felt it necessary to make this shift to ensure Augusta Health team members can receive the childcare they need to continue to stay in their roles and provide high-quality care to our communities.”
Augusta Health will implement this change between now and early 2026 to help mitigate the impact on families in the community and allow parents time to make new childcare arrangements, the release said. As of Feb. 1, 2026, all Augusta Health Childcare Center classes will be open only to Augusta Health team members.
Families with children enrolled at the Augusta Health Childcare Center have been notified of this change.