Health Topics For Child Care Providers




Health Topics For Child Care Providers

Program Health Policies

Every child care program is required to develop and maintain policies and procedures that address various health topics. Your Child Care Monitor or Licensing Specialist will give you specific requirements, and help you to develop your health policies. Here are some general guidelines for what to think about when developing your health policies. Your child care program's health policy should address:

Communicable Diseases

Parents should inform the center right away if their child contracts any serious communicable disease. The program director should notify all of the families in the program in writing, alerting them to symptoms and precautions. Your health policy should state how long a child with a communicable disease must stay out of child care, and should list restrictions on when a child can return to care (e.g., after three days on an antibiotic, or after the child's physician signs a note stating that the child is no longer contagious).

Daily Health and Illness

Each child's file should contain the name and telephone numbers of the person(s) to contact should the child become ill. Policy should dictate when children need to be sent home due to a fever, vomiting, diarrhea, etc. Any ill child should be removed from the group and be given a quiet place to rest until she goes home. Program health policies should state when children need to be kept out of care and when they can return. Consult a health care consultant or pediatrician for guidance in formulating a medication dispensation policy.

Staff Health

Each staff member must have an annual physical exam and comply with the program's health policies regarding illness and communicable diseases. Staff must have required immunizations and vaccinations, as well.

Hand Washing

Proper hand washing practices are very important for prevention of disease in child care programs. Staff will need to wash their hands frequently with soap and running water. Children should be supervised to ensure they wash hands after toileting or nose wiping, and before eating or handling food. Children and staff should use liquid soap from a dispenser, and use paper towels (not cloth) to avoid passing germs.

Times to wash hands:

After wiping a child's nose, eyes, or mouth; after contact with any bodily fluids, such as blood or saliva (your own or others')
After changing a child's diaper or soiled clothing, or assisting a child with toileting, or applying any salves or ointments to a child's skin
After blowing your own nose or using the toilet
Before handling food, preparing or serving a meal or snack, or administering medications
After handling animals or birds
After playing or working outdoors
After handling any toxins, such as household cleansers

Other important health and safety topics that you will receive training on, and should become as educated as possible on are SIDS, Shaken Baby Syndrome, and Child Abuse and Neglect.

For more information on these topics, click:

SIDS Shaken Baby Syndrome Child Abuse and Neglect

Consulting with pediatricians and/or nurses can be very helpful as you formulate your program's health policies, which should start by having a physical health form and immunization form, signed by a pediatrician or family practitioner, on file for each child.