Emergency Preparedness - STARS Child Care Basics · Emergency Preparedness A variety of emergencies...
Transcript of Emergency Preparedness - STARS Child Care Basics · Emergency Preparedness A variety of emergencies...
Parentsandsocietyexpecttheirchildrentobeinasafeenvironmentwhileinthecareofchildcareprograms.
However,emergenciesanddisastersdooccurinthesesettingsandchildcareprovidersneedtoplanandbepreparedwhensucheventshappen.
EmergencyPreparedness
Avarietyofemergenciescantakeplace.Medicalemergenciescanvaryfromaninjuryontheplaygroundtochokingonapieceoffood.
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Naturaldisasterscanoccurwithoutwarningsuchasanearthquakeorcanquicklybecomedangeroussuchasaflood.
Andthereisthehuman- orfaultyequipment-initiatedemergencysuchasafireoramissingchild.Emergenciescanalsohappenwhileinroutetoafieldtriporplayactivities,soappropriatemeasuresandproceduresneedtobeinplace.
EmergencyPreparedness
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ThemodelplanwasdevelopedbytheSnohomishCountyHealthDistrictPartnersinChildCare.It’spurposeistogivechildcarecenterpersonnelstep-by-stepproceduresforrespondingtoemergencysituationsduringthefirst30minutesofthedisaster.
Ifstaffareabletofollowtheinstructionsintheordertheyarewritten,itwillhelpthemtoknowwhattodoineachtypeofdisasterorcrisis.
DisasterPlan
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Allstaffshouldbetrainedannuallyonthedisasterplanattheirchildcareprogram.
DisasterPlan
Youarealsorequiredtohavewrittendocumentationthatparentshavereadandreviewedyourdisasterplanuponenrollment.
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Thedisasterplanshouldbe:
• Specifictothechildcarecenter
• Relevanttothetypesofdisastersthatmightoccurinthelocationofyourchildcarecenter
• Abletobeimplementedduringhoursofoperation
• Postedineveryclassroomforeasyaccessbyparentsandstaff
DisasterPlan
Adisasterplanisrequiredtocoverallpossibleemergenciesinachildcarecenter.
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Intheeventofafire,staffmembersandchildrenshouldbeabletogetatleast50feetawayfromthebuildingorstructure.
EvacuationTheroutinepracticeofemergencyevacuationplansfosterscalm,competentuseoftheplanin
theeventofanemergencyordisaster.
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Ifthechildrencannotreturntotheirusualbuilding,asuitablesheltercontainingallitemsnecessaryforchildcaremustbeavailablewherethechildrencansafelyremainuntiltheirparentscomeforthem.Anevacuationplanshouldtakeintoconsiderationallavailableopenareastowhichstaffandchildrencansafelyretreatinanemergency.
Evacuation
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UseofDailyRosterDuringEvacuationDrills
Evacuation
Thecenterdirectororhis/herdesigneemustuseadailyclassrosterincheckingtheevacuationandreturntoasafespaceforongoingcareofallchildrenandstaffmembersinattendanceduringanevacuationdrill.Caregiversmustcounttobesurethatallchildrenaresafelyevacuatedandreturnedtoasafespaceforongoingcareduringanevacuationdrill.
Useofarosterensuresthatallchildrenareaccountedfor.Evacuationoftheusualchildcarefacilityisonlythefirststep.
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EvacuationChildrenandstaffmusthaveasafeandappropriatelysuppliedplaceofrefugewherechildrencanreceivecareuntilparentscanarrivetoprovidecarefortheirchildren.
Parentsshouldbeinformedinadvanceofthelocationofthisalternatesitesothatinanemergency,theycangodirectlythereinsteadofneedingtosearchfortheirchildrenduringacrisis.
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Evacuation
Youmustkeepthetwelvemonthrecordindicatingthedateandtimeyouconductedtherequired
monthlyfireevacuationdrillson-siteforthecurrentyearplusthepreviouscalendaryear.
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EvacuationYoumustpostasimplediagramofthecentershowingroutesforgettingdifferentgroupsofchildrenoutofthebuildingandwheretheyaretogatheroutside.Theseevacuationdiagramsmustbepostedineachroombytheexitsandinhallways.
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FireSafety
Topromotefiresafety,checkthecenterregularlyforfirehazards.Thebestprotectionagainstfiresisprevention.Forinstance,storematcheswherechildrencannotreachthemandaccidentallystartfires.Asachildcareprofessional,youneedtofindandcorrectfirehazards.
Smokealarmsmustbecheckedatleastonceeachmonthtomakesuretheyareworking.
Ifsmokedetectorsarebatterypowered,changebatterieswhenindicated.
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FireSafety
Practicefireandevacuationdrillsatdifferenttimesofthedayusingalternateexits.Inarealemergency,youmayhavetobeoutsideforseveralhoursuntilthebuildingcanbedeemedsafetoreturn.
Itisrecommendedthatyoukeepanemergencykitbythedoor,whichincludesalltheemergencyinformationforthechildren,
blankets,treats,andthingstodotokeepthemoccupied.
Firedrillsmustbeconductedanddocumentedmonthly.
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FireSafety
Itmightbebettertohaveparentscomeandretrievetheirchildren.Staffandchildrenshouldnotalwayshaveadvancedwarningoffiredrills.Childrenneedtopractice:
• Keepingearsuncoveredandkeepingquietsotheycanlistentoinstructionsfromstaffaboutwheretoexit
• Exitingquietlyandcalmly• Liningupquietlyoutsideawayfromthebuilding• Waitingfortheannouncementthattheycangobackinside
Ifthefiredepartmentmustcometoevaluateyourbuildingitmaytakeseveralhours.
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FireSafetyWhenthefirealarmsounds,differentcenterstaffshouldbeassignedtoattendtothefollowing:• Leadingthegroupsfromthebuildingtodesignatedareas
andsupervisingthem• Gettingtheattendancerecordssoitcanbeconfirmedthat
allchildrenareoutofthebuilding• Closingdoorsandwindows• Checkingallareasofthebuilding,includingbathrooms,
whereachildmightbeleftbehind
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FireSafety
Ifyourcenterservesnon-ambulatorychildren,youmustdevelopasafemethodtoevacuatetheminanemergency.
Incenterscaringforchildrenwithspecialneedsthataffecttheirmobilityyoumayneedextrastaffatalltimestosafelyevacuatethechildreninatimelymanner.
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FireSafety
Caregiversshoulddiscusswiththechildrenhowtheirlivesaremoreimportantthananypossessions.
Explaintothechildrenwhytheyshouldgetoutofthebuildingimmediately,andNOTputtheirshoeson,gotogettheircoatorraceto
theircubbytogetsomething.
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FireSafetyCaregiverscancoverotheraspectsoffiresafetywithchildreninappropriateagegroups,suchas:
• Howtostop,drop,androlliftheirclothingisonfire• Howtocrawlontheirhandsandkneesifaroomis
fullofsmoke• Howtofeeladoorknobforheatbeforeopeningthe
door• Howitisimportanttohaveanemergency
evacuationprocedureathome,notjustatthecenter
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WeatherorDisasterEmergencies
Blizzards,hurricanes,floods,electricalstorms,tornadoes,andearthquakesareexamplesofweatherordisasteremergencies.
Alltheseconditionsposesafetythreatsforthechildrenandstaff.Therefore,itisimportanttohaveanemergencyplanforpossibleweatherordisasteremergencies.Theplanswilldependonthegeographicalareainwhichyouarelocated.Disasterdrillsmustbepracticedanddocumentedquarterly.
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WeatherorDisasterEmergenciesInsomeweatheremergencies,thechildcareprogrammaybeclosed.Aplanshouldbeinplacefornotifyingparentsofsuchanemergency.Specialarrangementsmayneedtobemadefortransportingthechildren.Bepreparedforemergencies.
Alwayskeepbattery-operatedflashlightsandaradioinaconvenientspot.
Foremergencies,blankets,water,food,andafirstaidkitshouldalsobeavailable.
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MissingChild
Manyinstanceshavebeenreportedwhereachildhashiddenwhenthegroupwasmovingtoanotherlocation,orwherethechildwanderedoffwhenadoorwasopenedforanotherpurpose.
Countingchildrenroutinelyiswithoutsubstituteinassuringthatachildhasnotslippedintoanunobservedlocation.
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MissingChild
Caregiversshouldrecordthecountonanattendancesheetoronapocketcard,alongwithnotationsofanychildrenjoiningorleavingthegroup.Caregiversshoulddothecountsbeforethegroupleavesanareaandwhenthegroupentersanewarea.
Thefacilityshouldassignandreassigncountingresponsibilityasneededto
maintainacountingroutine.
Facilitiesmightconsidercountingsystemssuchasusingaremindertoneonawatchormusicalclockthatsoundsattimedintervals(aboutevery15minutes)tohelpthestaffremembertocount.
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MissingChildOlderpreschoolchildrenandschool-agechildrenmayusetoiletfacilitieswithoutdirectvisualobservation.Thestaffshouldassessthesettingtoascertainhowtheabilitytoseeandhearchildactivitiesmightbeimproved.
Theuseofdevicessuchasconvexmirrorstoassurevisibilityaroundcorners.Babymonitorsforolderpreschoolandschool-agechildren,whousethetoiletbythemselves,maybeconsidered.
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MissingChild
Facilitiesmightalsoconsidertheuseofsurveillancedevicesorsystemsplacedstrategicallyinareaswheretheymightcontributefurthertochildsafety.
Inaddition,thesesystemsarebeneficialbecausetheycanallowparentstoobservethefacility;andcaregiverscanusethemassupportintheeventofanaccusationofabuse.
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