Kids home from school sick...could it be an opportunity?

Fun2, BSN, RN · Mar 1, 2005

It's different....lol

I'm not sure if it would work or not. Why not? Well, I'm not sure 1 mother would want to take their sick child to a house where they KNOW other sick children are. So one has a strept throat, one has pink eye....then they get both?

You'd have to have limits, and maybe even require them to have seen a Dr. or Nurse Practioner before allowing them in.

Good luck! :)

vermonthiker · Mar 3, 2005

I currently own my own family daycare, and I think it's a great idea!

I agree that it may be tricky with different illnesses. I used to work in a daycare with an RN, and a "get well" room, but the problem was that it was only one room. If you could get a facility with many different rooms, it could work. You could also charge more than a typical daycare, and I'm sure parents would pay. Whenever my kids are sick, the parents beg me to stay open, (I never do) as many of them don't want to take yet another day off (and my kids are rarely sick). I also get parents who try to pretend their kids aren't too sick for daycare, but I've been doing this long enough to know better. I wish I had a sick daycare to refer parents to.

I think if you had a great training program for staff, you would over time get a good rep for sanitary conditions and parents would bring their kids without worrying too much about them getting yet another illness. Of course you'd want to get all your paperwork to protect yourself.

elkpark · Mar 3, 2005

I've always heard (anecdotally) that there is a always a great need for daycare for sick children ...

However, rather than talking to the BON (or even local daycares), I would think that the people you need to talk to are the state agency in your state that regulates daycare facilities -- they can tell you how possible your idea is, and what requirements you would need to meet.

dawn1971 · Mar 3, 2005

I think it's a good idea for parents who can't/won't take time off when their kids are sick. Pitch it to the schools (have them send fliers home, talk to the school sectetary). Most parents have a Plan B if their kids get sick when they are young, but once they are school age that plan B stops and many send their kids to school even if the kids are sick. I'm sure elementary schools would LOVE to tell parents about this alternative!!!!! Good luck!

BRANDY LPN · Mar 3, 2005

If I remember correctly they used to have a daycare center like this in Little Rock Arkansas, it was called bearly ill or bearly sick or something, I tried to google it but didn't come up with anything. My oldest was born there and I remember seeing some advertisement for it back then.

gerinurse10 · Mar 4, 2005

I think parents should stay home with their sick kids. Nothing like having mom or dad or family by when you are sick. I know some people just can't take time off so this would benefit them rather than sending the poor kid to daycare sick anyway. By the way I did use daycare when my kids were younger so I am not anti daycare.

JulzNDuane · Mar 9, 2005

If you really like taking care of children, why not offer respite care for children who have medical conditions that require nursing care? This would give the parents the needed break of a trip to the grocery store, a dinner out for much needed couple time, an exercise class, or whatever. Relationships do become strained. As a school nurse, I know several couples who could really benefit from a service such as this. Just a thought.

hcmanp, NP · Mar 9, 2005

It's different....lol
I'm not sure if it would work or not. Why not? Well, I'm not sure 1 mother would want to take their sick child to a house where they KNOW other sick children are. So one has a strept throat, one has pink eye....then they get both?
You'd have to have limits, and maybe even require them to have seen a Dr. or Nurse Practioner before allowing them in.
Good luck! :)

I thought of something like this once for the same reason it came to you, but I hated peds, and worried about the liability for some kid catching something like meningitis from the kid in the next bed. I think you'd benefit from a lawyer's input on this also.

exnursie · Jul 6, 2005

I personally would not want to deal with that. and doubt if the health department would easily approve... too many germs and risks involved.

What does anyone think about this idea though.....

Is there a need for private duty care in the kids home, so the parents don't have to either take time off, or send a sick kid to school because they can't take the time, or whatever reason.

This would really be lucrative in a wealthier community, or with higher level executives. Not sure what they would be willing to pay, ..... $15/ hr and $20 after 8 hrs. If someone is making a 6 figure salary, they would not mind the money spent for one day ( $150-$250) vs the inconvenience of missing work??

Market the HR departments, and ask them to share this info in the company newsletter, or during orientation..... I cannot imagine HR not cooperating, the less sick days shelled out, the happier the company.

. Of course, it would be all day to day, and not consistant as far as work initially,.... but something to think about....

eddy · Oct 5, 2005

Seems like a lot of liability.

You would really need to treat each kid like an isolation patient and have the facilities to do so. A sick kid is already vulnerable to other infections.

You would HAVE to require a doc visit prior to "admit". Flu like symptoms doesn't mean they have the flu. It could be something quite bad.

I have to be honest. There is no way I'd take my kid somewhere like this. :rotfl:

javanurse2000, BSN, RN · Oct 5, 2005

I was reading the replies...a great mix of opinions! Certainly precautions would have to be taken and documented. I know the idea of taking your sick child to a place where there are many other sick kids sounds strange...but we do it all the time when we take our kids to the doctor's office. I would think there would be less of a risk of cross contamination if each patient had there own dedicated room or semi-enclosed area. Also, disposable flatware and plates, bowls, cups etc would be a must. I'm thinking of this in a very upscale market...not the type of service many could afford because of the cost per patient unless there was some kind of subcontract deal with an existing daycare. In regard to parents not wanting to leave their sick child, absolutely! Many parents (myself included) don't want to leave their sick child. There are, however, some parents that try to bring their children to daycare even when they know they are sick...I think one of the respondents to this thread has had some experience with this. One of the major obstacles is that children do need time to adjust to new surroundings and I'm not sure if the appropriate time is when there are under the weather. I still think space could be contracted out of an existing daycare if there were separate entrance/exit and bathroom facilities.