UNMC, together with Nebraska Medicine, is announcing a new partnership with WeeCare, the largest child care network in the United States. Benefits-eligible UNMC employees will have access to the WeeCare platform and network at no additional cost. Actual cost of child care is not included.
WeeCare offers 24/7 dedicated support that connects families with quality and licensed home child care providers, babysitters, nannies and backup care. WeeCare services include a dedicated care manager that works with employees to find the best options for their child care needs (including weekend, nighttime and backup care) based on their price range, location and preferences.
“UNMC seeks to support the child care needs of our diverse workforce by providing access to a variety of resources,” said Sarah Gloden Carlson, JD, assistant vice chancellor for UNMC’s Human Resources. “Our goal with this new partnership is to reduce stress by expanding access to child care options and ultimately to improve our employees’ work-life balance. With the addition of this resource, UNMC employees will not only have access to more child care options throughout Omaha, but also will have options for child care across the state. UNMC will be able to do more to support employees’ child care needs, regardless of where they work on our 500-mile wide campus.”
Last spring, the RISE (Respect Inspire Support Empower) Women Employee Resource Group conducted a survey of UNMC and Nebraska Medicine employees to get a better understanding of their child care needs and challenges. The survey results revealed these key findings:
- The biggest challenges facing employees include finding care for a sick child, the cost of child care and finding temporary child care.
- Top five considerations to parents:
- Child safety
- Cost
- Skills/learning and development
- Social interaction and flexible hours
“We understand that to help meet the child care needs of our employees, one solution does not necessary work for every family,” said Anne Barnes, vice chancellor for business, finance and business development at UNMC. “For instance, the survey data we reviewed indicated convenient drop-off is more valuable to many employees than proximity to either their home or campus. We want to offer a variety of flexible child care options, and WeeCare provides that.”
UNMC employees will receive a welcome email from WeeCare on Wednesday, March 22, and are encouraged to explore this new child care resource.
To get started today or simply learn more about the service:
- Visit the WeeCare website for UNMC.
- Create a profile and answer a few questions about your child care needs.
- With the help of a 24/7 care manager, get priority access to the largest network of child care providers in the U.S.
- Download the app on a mobile device from the home page.