Professional Topics

Kids Under the Weather: A Rainbow of Care for Sick Children
One hospital’s unique program keeps staff members on the job by providing care for their sick children. By Suzanne Noble, RN

What do you do when your child is sick and you need to go to work? It’s not an easy decision. This becomes a real problem when you’re getting ready for work and you discover your child is too ill to go to day care or school. And for you, taking the day off at a moment’s notice may not be acceptable.

Sarasota (Florida) Memorial Hospital’s Kids Under the Weather (KUW) program is designed for just these kinds of emergencies. Kids Under The Weather offers working parents knowledgeable, safe and comfortable care for mildly ill children as a staff benefit and a community service. The hospital underwrites a portion of the cost of the program and allows employees to payroll deduct the remainder of the fees.

Amy Healy, director, Child Care Services, feels this unique 22-bed program solves many problems for parents who need to be present at the work place. Healy earned her Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education and a Master’s Degree in Special Education from Russell Sage College, Troy, NY. She opened the first hospital based employer sponsored child care program in the region in Albany, NY, in 1984.

Located inside the hospital, the service sets specific guidelines for children cared for there, such as a temperature must be under 102 degrees or the child must have been seen by a physician.

"The service is really for use by parents whose kids are feeling "punky" but not so sick that they need to be in bed," Healy says. "If parents wish to have their child seen by a physician while in Kids Under the Weather, they may make arrangements with the child’s pediatrician. The staff of KUW assists with these visits. Typically, the kids see the physician the day before or during the day they’re here. Some of the children just have a virus which doesn’t really need a physician but just needs time and TLC."

When a child arrives at KUW, parents provide information about specific symptoms, medications, last meal, where to contact them during the day, who is authorized to pick up the child, and what time they will return to take the child home. When the parent picks up the child, they receive a copy of the day’s record that details how the child did during the day and when medication was given.

Breakfast, lunch and snacks are available. The charge for the service is $5.25 an hour for a baby up to age three. For age three and above, the fee is $5.00 an hour because these children require less care and the staffing ratio is lower. The fee is underwritten either in whole or in part by employers in the community, including Sarasota Memorial Hospital, Nations Bank, Arthur Andersen Company, Sarasota County Schools and Sarasota County government. For employers who provide KUW as an employee benefit, a form is given to the parent certifying the services provided.

The staff of KUW consists of Licensed Practical Nurses and specially trained child care workers. The number of staff will depend on the number and ages of children present, as well as the illnesses and condition of the children. The staff of the pediatric unit, just down the hallway, acts as backup for the Kids Under the Weather staff. The pediatric area takes calls for Kids Under the Weather during the night and can take reservations for the next day. Parents need to call back and confirm the spot for the child by 7 am. If they don’t confirm, those on the waiting list can get a spot, and, in the worst case, be a little late for work instead of missing the whole day.

Sarasota Memorial Hospital has an affiliation with All Children’s Hospital of St. Petersburg, Fla., with their pediatric physicians present in the hospital. Occasionally, the center has called on one of All Children’s pediatricians to treat a sick child. A few children have been direct admissions to the hospital or been taken to the Emergency Care Center.

The children are placed in separate rooms according to their symptoms. Children with respiratory illness are put in the Sniffles Room. Those with stomach symptoms are placed in the Tummy Ache room. Each room has play areas and washable toys. No group activities are held to avoid combining children with different symptoms.

There is a very hard line to draw about when a child is too sick for regular day care. Healy explains, "I’ve seen some kids come in okay with just some asthma, and be in real trouble by the afternoon. I’m more comfortable with them being in the hospital. Medicine, nebulizer treatments, and fever reducers can be given. And, hospital staff can drop in and see their sick kids during the day. The KUW program has a good working relationship with community pediatricians and often receives referrals from them.

"For every working parent, especially in the nineties, this is a critical need. Employers are family friendly but they want their employees at work. It’s costly to replace regular staff with temporary staff," noted Healy. "Here at the hospital we believe it’s the right thing to do. You also can work it out from a financial perspective; it makes financial sense. The service pays for itself because employees understanding how much we care about them."

Suzanne Noble, RN is Senior Editor of HEALTH MANAGEMENT TECHNOLOGY.