Combined forces save Strawberry Mill Day Care
Published on February 17th, 1999
STONEHAM, MA - When all components are working as one, anything can be accomplished. This is what parents of some local pre-schoolers discovered in recent days.
The well-oiled machine composing of attorneys for the Boston Regional Medical Center (BRMC), BRMC creditors, State Representative Michael Festa, the Melrose YMCA, and over 50 parents seems to have successfully averted a crises which would have forced the Strawberry Mill Child Care Center to close its doors for good.
"It really has been just an incredible roller coaster ride," Festa told the Independent on Monday. "When 60 parents find out that their kids no longer have day care at this time of year, it causes major problems."
The problems began at Strawberry Mill, a nationally recognized day care center on the grounds of Boston Regional Medical Center, when BRMC administrators filed for bankruptcy on February 4. This filing left the day care staff at a loss given that their employer and landlord intended to cut services to a minimum in seven days time.
According to Festa, parents of Strawberry Mill preschoolers were notified late that same week that the day school would be closing on Friday, February 12.
On Sunday, February 7, an emergency meeting was held at the Melrose home of Jeanne and Mike Henry, one of the affected couples.
"I had never even heard of Strawberry Mill before this," Festa said after attending the meeting with 60 to 70 parents. "It was just incredible to see the turnout. They really wanted to explore every possible avenue to keep the place open.
"I was really heartened by the fact that so many parents showed up on a Sunday night and were willing to solve this."
According to Mike Henry, "It was clear by their efforts that the parents really wanted to see the center keep running and were open to any and all possibilities to keep it so."
As a result of the meeting, Festa vowed to investigate the issue with the hospital and creditors.
Festa said he ironed out his pitch and delivered it to Alan Bronstein, an attorney for the hospital, first. He told the attorney that parents were attempting to find a group that was willing to take over the day care and asked if the hospital would allow it to reopen if this action proved fruitful.
"He was willing to get on board quickly," Festa said.
Next, the state representative placed a call to Harry Murphy, lead counsel for BRMC creditors. Murphy, who represents the interests of several firms and the $45 million that they have invested in BRMC, surprised Festa with his willingness to go along with local parents in their efforts with the stipulation that no further debts would be accumulated as a result.
Festa said that the spirit of kindness in these two individuals was a key to the projects success.
"They are adversaries," he said of Murphy and Bronstein, "but they came together on this. They're heroes too. They are spending multiple hours every day of the week dealing with millions of dollars and they took the time out of their day to get this done."
Now that parents had the support of those in charge of the property, they attempted to find someone to deal with the hands-on aspect of the job - a staff willing and able to look after the school's 67 children.
"Unfortunately, the biggest enemy in all of this was time," Henry said of the initial search. "That coupled with the fact that the teachers were going through this huge trauma made it difficult."
Festa explained that the day care director and most of the staff, many of which had worked for BRMC for over a decade, had "been through the ringer" and were no longer willing to stay on board.
"It was just bad timing," he said of the hospital's bankruptcy declaration. "There was a lot of tension, a lot of mixed emotions. Everyone wants this day care to live, but I think the idea (of keeping the day care open) was very emotional, very draining."
After several attempts to find a group willing to take on the responsibility of the day care, it appeared as if the parents were out of luck. Soon after, however, the Melrose YMCA got into the mix and answered some prayers.
"They exist to help parents and kids in need and they wanted to know what they could do to help out," Festa said of his first meeting with Michael Whitworth, president of the YMCA. "It was an absolutely beautiful thing to see."
The timing also could not have been better.
"This happened at the eleventh hour," he explained.
The YMCA is presently taking an inventory of the school's supplies and is looking for staff to man the Woodland Road day care center. According to Faye DiBona of the YMCA, former employees of Strawberry Mill have been offered positions at the reorganized school.
After a review by Child Care Services, Strawberry Mill Child Care Center is expected to reopen on Monday, February 22.
According to Mike Henry, Mike Festa was the key to the campaign's success.
"Mike Festa's been outstanding. It's a credit to him that this issue has a resolution, " he said. "He's really been great. I hate to say this about a politician, but he really came through."
Festa gave similar credit to the team that, together, came up with the solution to a complicated problem.
"A lot of good people have come together," he said. "People really worked hard to get a good result.
"I'm just glad I was there to be asked."
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