HEALTH CARE POLICY

A copy of this policy will be provided to every staff member, parent and to our health care consultant. Each staff member is trained in first aid and infection control procedures.

Emergency Phone Numbers Are Posted By Every Telephone

In Case Of Illness Or Emergency:

Children will be transported to U-Mass Hospital via the ambulance or an authorized vehicle. A staff member will accompany the child to the hospital along with the child’s medical record and emergency release medical form. The director or assistant will contact the parent or legal guardian. The staff person will stay at the hospital with the child until the parent arrives.

If the parent cannot be contacted, the director or assistant will call the emergency contacts while continuing attempts to contact the parent. The child’s physician will also be contacted. We require at least two emergency contacts for each child enrolled at the center.

In the event of an illness or emergency while on a field trip, a staff member will send word to the director or assistant who will take charge of the emergency, contact emergency rescue if necessary, and contact parents or guardian. Emergency contact will be called if the parents cannot be reached. The staff member shall have signed permission slips and emergency information for each child attending.

Accident reports will be filled out within twenty-four hours of the incident. The parent receives a copy, a copy is placed in the child’s file, and the incident is noted in the central injury log, which is kept with the first aid kit.

Using And Maintaining First Aid Equipment:

The first aid kit and manual are kept in the front file. We keep additional supplies in the kitchen. The first aid kit is maintained by the director and the assistant. Equipment is checked on a monthly basis and replaced as needed. Staff notify the director or assistant of any required treatment.

First aid equipment is used in accordance with specific injuries both at and away from the center. First aid is administered by staff members who have completed first aid training.

All injuries are recorded in the central injury log, the child’s file, and explained in writing to the parent or guardian.

A first aid kit will be taken on all field trips.

Emergency Evacuation Of The Center:

In the event of an emergency, such as fire, everyone must leave the building immediately by group. Staff count the children, proceed to the far side of the playground and recount the children.

Daily attendance records are maintained by the teacher in charge of each group, and are kept accessible to the nearest exit. Upon evacuation, the daily attendance record is taken outside to verify children in attendance.

The emergency crib is labeled and shall remain located near the exit.

The cook shall proceed immediately to the infant room and assist with the evacuation. One staff member is assigned to every three infants and every four toddlers, three infants to a crib for evacuation. All proceed to the far side of the playground.

Children with disabilities may require special assistance.

The director and the assistant close doors, windows, check bathrooms and all classrooms for stragglers. Emergency information for all children and staff shall accompany the director upon evacuation.

Evacuation drills are practiced on a monthly basis. The date, time, and effectiveness of each drill will be noted in a central log.

Evacuation procedures are posted in every classroom.

In the case of fire or natural disaster, or situation (chemical spill, bomb threat, etc.) necessitating evacuation of the building:

If the situation is such that returning the children to the center will not be possible, parents will be notified to pick up the children. One or more staff will take the emergency information book to the nearest neighbor/phone to begin contacting the parents. Said staff will stay with the children until all parents have been reached. If it is necessary to evacuate the entire property while waiting for parents, the children will be taken (by way of emergency vehicles, staff vehicles or by foot) to the nearest neighbor or public building. Staff will stay with the children and parents will be notified to pick up the children there.

In the case of a power outage, loss of heat, loss of water or other such situation the center will be closed. Parents will be notified, as in the case of a fire, to pick up the children. However, children will remain at the center until parents arrive.

Injury Prevention Plan:

A daily check by the opening and closing teachers assures the removal and/or repair of hazards.

A central injury log is kept with the first aid kit. This log is reviewed monthly by the director or assistant.

In the event of an injury, the teacher in charge must fill out an injury report form within 24 hours. A copy is given to the child’s parents, a copy is placed in the child’s file, and the injury is noted in the central injury log. Parents are notified immediately of any injury which requires emergency care. Parents are notified of minor injuries upon arrival at the center.

There will be no smoking allowed in the building or in the presence of children.

All toxic or hazardous substances are disposed of immediately or kept in a locked closet, out of the reach of the children.

Management Of Infectious Diseases:

Parents are required to notify the center in the event their child contracts an infectious disease. Other parents will be notified of the infectious disease by way of a notice posted in the lobby.

Symptoms of excessive diarrhea, vomiting, high temperature, unidentified rash, or any communicable disease shall warrant the child to be secluded from the other children at the center.

Children who exhibit symptoms of an infectious disease will be isolated and made as comfortable as possible until parent, guardian, or emergency contact can be reached.

Children may return to the center when free of the symptoms described above. When a communicable disease is diagnosed, a doctor’s note must accompany the child’s return to the center.

Medical records of all children are considered confidential information. With parental consent, records containing HIV status may be shared by the director with the primary care givers, who need to know in order to protect the child against other infections. This information does not require release of a child’s HIV antibody status, unless parental consent is given. With consent of the parent or guardian, the physician will provide information regarding the child’s HIV status.

Notifying parents or other caregivers about the presence of a known or suspected HIV infected child is unnecessary and is prohibited.

Infection Control:

Infection control is a must in a child care setting. All staff are trained in infection control procedures. Strict handwashing must be practiced by the children and staff, including but not limited to the following times:

Before eating or handling food;

After toileting or assisting children with toileting or diapering;

After contact with bodily fluids or discharges;

After cleaning areas contaminated by body fluids (bloody clothing is sealed in a plastic bag, labeled, and sent home with the parent at the end of the day);

After handling pets or their equipment; and

After cleaning.

Plastic gloves are worn by staff coming in contact with bodily fluids (blood, feces, vomit, urine).

Hands shall be washed with liquid soap and running water, using friction, for 15 – 30 seconds, and dried with disposable paper towels. Faucets shall be turned off with the paper towel so that hands are not dirtied.

Handwashing procedures and reminders are posted by every sink.

Facilities used for handwashing after toileting or diapering shall be separate from facilities and areas used for food preparation and food service.

Commonly used surfaces and toys are washed with soap and water and sanitized with a germicidal cleaner or a standard bleach solution. Solution is made fresh daily as needed and kept out of the reach of children. Germicidal cleaner or bleach solution is used for sanitizing:

Eating tables and high chairs before and after each use;

Countertops in kitchen before and after food contact;

Changing tables after each use;

Bathrooms daily;

Potty seats after each use;

Sinks and water fountains daily;

Infant toys after each use;

Toddler toys daily or more frequently as needed;

Diaper pails daily;

Water tables after each use;

Mops after each use;

Play tables daily;

Floors daily;

Preschool toys as needed;

Sheets and blankets weekly or more as needed;

Cribs and mats weekly or more as needed;

Machine washable toys at least monthly.

Mildly Ill Children:

If a child appears to be mildly ill and shows no sign of an emergency, s/he will be taken aside, encouraged to rest, and symptoms will be observed. Children will be cared for in the office if care in the classroom is not appropriate.

Parents or emergency contacts will be notified of symptoms. Based on the illness and symptoms, a decision will be made as to whether or not the child should be sent home.

The child will be kept as comfortable as possible and the center will meet the child’s individual requirements for food, drink, rest, play materials and appropriate activities.

All staff are trained in the following areas: general practices and procedures for the care and comforting of ill children, recognition and documentation of symptoms of illness, and taking children’s temperatures.

Medications:

Any child requiring medication must have an authorization form signed by the parent, which specifies medication name, reference number, dosage and time to be administered. (Medication authorization forms)

Any child requiring topical, non-prescription medication, including, but not limited to, creams, ointments, powders, sun-block, bug spray, calamine lotion, etc., must have a signed and dated permission slip. (Topical non-prescription medication forms)

All medication (prescription or non-prescription) must be properly labeled, in the original container. Medications without a prescription label must be accompanied by a note from the child’s doctor.

All medication will be stored in appropriate containers out of the reach of children. Unused medications will be returned to the parent for disposal.

The director, assistant director, teacher or cook will, after administering the medication, immediately log required information on the permission slip. Upon completion of medication the permission slip is kept in the child’s file.

Specific Health Needs And Allergies:

Allergies are identified by the parent on the enrollment form. These are relayed to the staff and are posted in the child’s classroom as well as in the kitchen. Known allergies are to be avoided. Staff shall either remove the child from the allergic environment or take the irritant out of the child’s space. Food allergies are noted to the cook and a special diet may be posted for the child.

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