Teach

All staff members who work with young children are required to complete training to learn how to help prevent the spread of infectious disease. Often, a nurse or health care professional provides this training. You can also help support staff members’ learning. Make sure you are familiar with the resources related to infectious disease available in this Healthy Environments course.

You will also need to teach staff members how to model healthy habits related to infectious disease. For example, make sure staff members know how to cover their own coughs and proper glove-wearing procedures. Provide ongoing training around universal precautions: glove-wearing, cleaning and disinfecting procedures, etc.

You will also need to make sure staff members know how to perform and document daily health checks. This includes recognizing when a child experiences illness or a health concern. Make sure you train new staff members on your program’s exclusion policy. You may be called to help a staff member make a decision about whether a child is ill and needs to be sent home. Therefore, you must be familiar with the signs and symptoms of common infectious diseases and your program’s policies. You may also be responsible for communicating with families when certain infectious diseases occur in your program. Be prepared to make sure staff members follow exclusion and readmission policies themselves: sick staff members can spread illnesses, too.

Model

You should model practices that prevent the spread of infectious disease. Follow the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s guidelines for covering your cough and handwashing. You can also model talking to children about healthy habits. For example, if a child sneezes while you are in a classroom, you can remind the child to go wash his or her hands. You can also help staff members remember to wash their own hands and the child’s hands after wiping a child’s nose. It’s OK to remind staff members and administrators to take steps to prevent the spread of disease, too. This helps promote a culture of healthy habits in your program.

You might be called when a staff member suspects a child is ill. Be prepared to conduct a health check and look for signs of illness. Follow your program’s procedures for exclusion and readmission. In the event of an emergency or illness, model proper sanitation procedures in the presence of body fluids like blood, vomit, urine, or feces. Remain calm in these situations and help staff use their training. You might also need to supervise children while staff members respond to the emergency.

Observe

You may not see staff members respond to illness every time you observe in a classroom or program. However, when illness occurs, be prepared to make sure staff members follow your program’s procedures. You can observe and provide feedback on a staff member’s calmness, appropriate response in caring for a child, and attention to health and sanitation protocols. Use the Infectious Diseases Best Practices Checklist resource in the Apply Activities section below to help document staff members’ progress and knowledge of appropriate procedures.

Responding to Illness

It is important to think about how you support staff as they respond to illness. The following video shows an infant and toddler classroom. You will see responses that do not prevent the spread of disease. As you watch the video, think about the procedures the staff member should have taken and the health risks you see. Also take this opportunity to think about why your program has the health and cleanliness policies it does and how these policies help keep children healthy. Being able to articulate your policies to staff members is important, but it is also important to be prepared to talk about why and how those policies keep children and staff healthy.

Now consider what you would say and do to support the staff member in the video:

Additional Examples of Responding to Illness

Now look at additional examples of ways infant and toddler, preschool, and school-age staff members respond to illness. You and all staff members must be vigilant about responding to illness. The same principles apply across age ranges. As children age they become more independent: they may be able to make it to the restroom if they are ill, or they may blow their noses independently. Regardless of how independent children are, all staff members must follow the same universal health precautions.

After completing their Healthy Environments course, staff members should understand and follow procedures for responding to illness whenever it occurs. Remember to observe, provide feedback, and offer resources as needed throughout an employee’s career. Needs will change, but your role always serves a critical mission.