• Violation

  R 400.1961 · R 400.1961 Parent notification required; incidents; accidents; illness; disease; isolation. (2) A licensee shall isolate a child who is too ill to remain in the group in an area where the child can be supervised and made as comfortable as possible.

  On 3/22/22, Child A and Child B's Mother said that Child A, two- year-old male, and Child B, one-year old female, end up getting sick every time they go to child care. In the last three months, they have only attended about 20 days due to sickness. In the beginning of March, Child A and Child B were home for two weeks, went to child care one day and then ended up sick again. Another time in the middle of March, they attended one day in one week and four days in the week after that and ended up sick again. Child A and Child B's Mother feels that Mrs. Lundholm is not following her sick policy and is not making sure parents follow it either. The Hand, Foot and Mouth illness was in the home in January of 2022 and the RSV illness was in the home before this. Ms. Lundholm let the parents know and asked them to monitor their children. She said if their child had a cough, they should get tested. 2 On 4/12/22, a visit was made to the child care. Mrs. Lundholm answered my questions about her sickness policy. She said she is very firm about her sickness policy. She often asks parents of a sick child to have their child cleared by a doctor before returning to child care. When RSV went through the child care, a doctor cleared a child to come back without testing the child for RSV. The child came back and then more children got it. Then she started asking doctors to make sure they tested for it. She keeps in close contact with the parents about children being exposed, symptoms to watch for and her expectations on when a child should stay home. In January, all employees got covid and she closed for a week, following the guidelines. Fever is an automatic parent pick- up. If a child has two other symptoms, for example, cough and runny nose, this would require pick-up as well. If a child goes home due to fever, there is a 48-hour window before they can return. If there are more symptoms as well, child has to stay home for 72 hours. The only thing she is a little flexible about is if the child's runny nose is clear and they have no other symptoms. Mrs. Lundholm continues to do drop off and pick up outside so less people are entering the home. Sick children are isolated in a specific area until the parent arrives. On 5/2/22, Child C and Child D's Mother said Mrs. Lundholm shares her sickness policy with her each year. If it is a communicable disease, she requires a negative test and a doctor's note for a child to return. She monitors child temperatures a lot. Mrs. Lundholm communicates with her about what child's doctor recommended and follows that. She sends parents information about what their child has been exposed to and what to watch for. On one occasion, Mrs. Lundholm asked her to pick up Child C (ten- month-old, male) due to illness. On 5/2/22, Child E's Mother said Mrs. Lundholm follows her sickness policy. Children have to be fever free to return and she also may require a negative test for a communicable disease. She is very conscientious about her sickness policy and keeps parents informed of what children have been exposed to and possible symptoms. Mrs. Lundholm let her know Child E (twenty-three-month old, female) seemed lethargic once. She did not require pick-up but Child E's Mother picked up Child E anyway.

The licensee is not following her sick policy and she is not ensuring that the parents are following it either. The licensee is not cleaning enough to stop the spread of germs.

Disposition: Substantiated