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Child care center that served Parkland Health patients, employees closes its doors

The exterior of a gray building with a purple awning, the name Annie's Place and two handprints layered over one another -- one purple, one white.
Kailey Broussard
/
KERA
Annie's Place closed to drop-in child care services Jan. 22, 2025, after four years of operating at Parkland Health and 10 years of providing child care to low- and moderate- income families.

A unique center that offered child care services for patients and staff at Parkland Health in Dallas has shuttered.

Annie's Place announced its abrupt closure last week in a post on social media and the organization's website. The Dallas Morning News was the first to report on the announcement.

The nonprofit offered child care services in the community for over a decade. The organization opened its Parkland Health location in 2020 for patient families and eventually children of Parkland employees.

Laura Rhoden, Annie’s Place CEO, wrote in her announcement that the organization experienced “insurmountable” challenges, including financial troubles that began in 2023. Grants the organization’s staff anticipated fell through.

“Annie’s Place has been a lifeline for patient families at Parkland for their childcare needs, and for homebound parents who have needed stable, loving childcare for extended periods of time,” Rhoden wrote.

KERA has reached out to Annie’s Place for further comment.

Child care operations at Annie’s Place ended Wednesday. The organization will wind down its at-home nanny program by Feb. 1.

Annie’s Place services kept nearly 15,000 medical appointments from being canceled due to lack of child care over the past decade, according to Rhoden’s announcement, and served 1,432 families.

The center was the only agency in the country that provided free drop-in child care services to low- and moderate-income families, according to the organization’s website. A 2020 survey of Parkland Health clinics found that lack of child care was the most frequent reason for patients missing care.

“Annie’s place has always been about more than childcare," Rhoden wrote. "It’s about community, compassion, and the belief that no family should have to choose between access to healthcare and quality childcare.”

The closure comes months after founder and CEO Natalie Boyle stepped down for health reasons.

Parkland Health has set up temporary child care services for employees and said it will search for a new vendor to operate the space, Parkland Health spokesperson Wendi Hawthorne wrote in a statement. Drop-in services for patients will resume when the county hospital system finds a new vendor.

“We are committed to providing a childcare option for campus employees and eligible patients,” Hawthorne said.

Got a tip? Email Kailey Broussard at kbroussard@kera.org.

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Kailey Broussard covers health for KERA News. Previously, they covered the city of Arlington for four years across multiple news organizations and helped start the Arlington Report.