NORWICH – The idea of offering enhanced services to better meet customer demands is nothing new; but with state regulations often pulling the strings, it can often be a bitter pill to swallow.
For child care providers, something as simple as assisting a child with their asthma inhaler or making sure they receive prescribed medication on time is considered taboo in the eyes of the state and regulatory officials. Likewise, if a child needs to be administered an emergency allergy medication (like an EpiPen for a bee sting), that too is off limits for child care providers without the proper certifications.
Paula Crawford, Director of the Kids In Direct Supervision (KIDS) program at The Place, said, “It became apparent that we were not able to provide our services to school-aged children who need routine medication. We realized that if we became accredited as a facility to dispense medications to the children that need them, we'd be of better service to the community.”
In keeping with the sprit of taking things one step at a time, Caldwell – along with another Place staffer, Roberta Crawford – have completed the first steps that will eventually enable them to administer medications while supervising The Place's school-aged children.
Rebecca Sands, Executive Director at The Place, commented that as the regulations stand now, the only medical intervention that staff at the nonprofit can take is the application of a topical ointment or a band-aid.
“In the past, we have had to turn people away because of the lack of certification required to perform this most basic task,” said Sands.
Added Crawford, “It's important – especially here in Chenango County, where there are not very many child care facilities exist – that we have the ability to help out the parents. It's impractical for them to leave work and travel to their child care provider just to give your child a pill or inhaler. Many of the parents that we serve are stressed already; we want to be able to offer them assistance and have them be confident that their child is being well cared for in every aspect of what we do,” she said.
On days when The Place is at capacity the entire workday, often a full day field trip is planned to keep the children engaged in education on days off from school. In this scenario, if a child is prescribed a medication by a physician and has been scheduled to be administered within the hours of the trip, the parent is left with two options; take the day off work and come along on the trip or keep the child from participating.
“This is why we feel that the new certifications are important to us. It enables The Place to better serve our families who already rely on us,” said Crawford.
The Office of Children and Family Services has purposed an emergency waiver that must be completed and filed with The Place for every child prior to admission into the program. This will act as a fail-safe, allowing staff members to assist children under duress in an emergency situation until all of the certifications are completed at the facility.
Currently, Crawford and Caldwell are the only staff members with the MAT (Medication Administration Training) certification – which included specialized training and completion of a med-passing practical much like that in nursing curriculum.
“We had to engage in a number of computer tutorials as well as attend a four-hour lecture before administering various medications under the supervision of a nurse,” said Caldwell. “The lecture addressed proper technique and dosage measurement.”
The Place is in the process of acquiring the last certifications it will need as a facility to complete the process and is looking forward to offering one more services to the families and children that they serve no and in the future.