TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. – Whether you’re accident-prone or a shut-in, David Grant USAF Medical Center at Travis Air Force Base is a place every Travis Airman eventually needs to visit to be cleared for duty.
As the proverbial center of the web for operational readiness at Travis, the hospital plays a key role in ensuring the readiness of military members.
But the idea of attending various appointments may seem daunting for service members whose schedules often revolve around their children’s, making the process of being cleared for duty seem like an unending one.
That’s where Nicole Hall comes in. Hall is the manager at Teddy’s Child Watch, a free child care service based inside DGMC with the purpose of providing parents the option of dropping their children off with on-site care providers while they attend their appointments.
Hall, who has a bachelor’s degree in human development and family studies from the University of Alabama, said the program is all about providing military families with a little peace of mind.
“For most military parents, their kids are going to come first no matter what,” Hall said. “What we try to do is make it easier for them to care for their kids while also caring for themselves.”
Hall and Cheyenne Dion, a Teddy’s Watch volunteer and Hall’s second-in-command, have been at Travis for two years and one year, respectively. As military spouses, they said they understand how important it is to stay on top of readiness requirements and just how beneficial extra help can be.
“Something I’ve noticed from my husband is that readiness and Comprehensive Airman Fitness is a lot like a game of Jenga,” Dion said. “If one piece of the tower is out of whack, it can be disastrous. I think Teddy’s Child Watch is a way for us to prop up those sort of precarious sections—those sections that look like they might fall—so that you can do what you need to to bring it all back under control.”
The pair also made it clear that Teddy’s Child’s Watch is a service available to all service members.
“When active-duty spouses deploy, it can sometimes turn a house upside down,” Hall said. “And that can suck not only for the spouses at home working to hold down the fort, but for that deployed Airman worrying about the welfare of their family. But what shouldn’t add to that suck is the extra anxiety that comes with not knowing how you’ll be able to bend yours and your children’s schedules around your doctor visits. We’re a staff made up of people who understand that and cater to that.”
That understanding is something Jennifer Williams, a spouse of an active-duty Airman, said she appreciates.
It was no walk in the park to move to Travis while 20-weeks pregnant with four young children at home, Williams said.
“Teddy's Child Watch allowed us to focus on our family and health during the stress of that move,” she added. “We didn't have family or friends nearby when we moved, and it would have been extremely difficult to arrange child care during my prenatal appointments and my kids’ check-ups. Teddy's Child Watch gave us one less thing to worry about while navigating the challenges of military life. Teddy's Child Watch even cared for one of my children at a moment's notice when another needed to go to the emergency room.”
Two years later, Hall still looks after the Williams children. She said, for her, the challenges of military life are no match for the bedrock community that’s been established by the many families who’ve called Travis home over the years.
“I think the key to any successful institution is just the basic act of caring about other people,” she said. “I think there’s a lot to be said of us all being in the same boat and living lives that are pretty comparable to one another. We all know that child care can be expensive, so we made our services free. We (also) know that it’s important to vet our child care providers, so we properly vet all our staff, top to bottom. We know how hard it can be to have kids as active-duty service members or as military spouses, so we work every day to make it that much easier and stress-free.”
Williams said she’s thankful for the service and comfort Teddy’s Child Watch provides.
“There was a time during my most recent pregnancy that I thought of switching insurance and delivering at another facility,” she said. “I decided to deliver at DGMC largely because of Teddy’s Child Watch. I’ll forever be grateful to them for supporting my family during such a hectic time.”
Even as the deployability of Airmen becomes more important and Travis’ operations tempo begins its summer peak, Hall remains undeterred in the work that will inevitably face the care center.
Doing a job well means being fit—not only physically, but mentally, emotionally and socially, she said.
“At the end of the day, we’re here to help Airmen and their families cultivate that level of holistic fitness, and that’s exactly what we’re going to do.”
Teddy’s Child Watch hours are Monday through Thursday 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. and Fridays 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. For more information, call (707) 423-3376 or e-mail teddyschildwatch@gmail.com.