Landstuhl CDC opens the door to care for dozens of children

By Mr. Mark Heeter (IMCOM)May 4, 2011

CDC opens the door to care for dozens of children
1 / 3 Show Caption + Hide Caption – The CDC at Landstuhl opened for business to infants April 4 and has been adding children by age group weekly. It's opened the door for 62 full-time slots and several hourly slots - part of the garrison's commitment to support Soldiers and families in... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
New CDC opens the door to care for dozens of children
2 / 3 Show Caption + Hide Caption – The CDC at Landstuhl opened for business to infants April 4 and has been adding children by age group weekly. It's opened the door for 62 full-time slots and several hourly slots - part of the garrison's commitment to support Soldiers and families in... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
New CDC opens the door to care for dozens of children
3 / 3 Show Caption + Hide Caption – The CDC at Landstuhl opened for business to infants April 4 and has been adding children by age group weekly. It's opened the door for 62 full-time slots and several hourly slots - part of the garrison's commitment to support Soldiers and families in... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany - Nestled into a corner of one of the playrooms in the new Landstuhl Child Development Center, Spc. Natalie Arteaga, with the 212th Combat Support Hospital, helped her 20-month-old daughter, Emma-Lynn, change a doll's diaper.

"I really like it. Everything's new, and the kids like new," Arteaga said, prior to the grand opening ceremony at the CDC April 28.

"This is more convenient," she said, gesturing to the pint-sized chairs, tables and kitchen appliances. "Even the chairs are more accessible."

The center, which actually opened for business to infants April 4 and has been adding children by age group weekly, opened the door for 62 full-time slots and several hourly slots, said Lt. Col. Kevin Hutchison, U.S. Army Garrison Kaiserslautern commander, during his remarks to open the ceremony.

"We were able to reduce some of our waiting lists and, more importantly, we were able to move around some people who had requested to go to other facilities that are more accommodating to them because of where they live and where they work," Hutchison said.

Ben Wood, who joined his 5-year-old daughter, Avery, and dozens of other children on the playground following the ribbon cutting, appreciated that his daughter had the chance to start at the center simultaneously with other children.

"They all started at the same time. And I like that she's getting exposure to diverse kids" he said.

While her 20 staff members offered tours, supervised and played with children, and visited with parents, Sarah Jones, the facility's director explained how the group meshed in the weeks and months leading up to the opening.

"We really had the opportunity to train while we were waiting for it to open, so all of the staff had that chance to come together," Jones said. "So we had the pleasure to come together and do a lot of training together and build that cohesiveness, so the staff were prepared to go as soon as we opened the doors."

"There are a lot of people who have worked for CYSS for a long time, so they know the history of the program, but then we have a lot of new members of the team that are bringing us outside experience. So we're benefitting from new ideas that they brought with them," she said.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Europe District provided oversight on the construction of the facility, according to Martin Rothhaar, the project engineer who led the project.

Down to the last details about safety and security, the Corps was there to provide quality assurance, Rothhaar said.

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