Daycare Shut Down After Infant Death

[BumbleBee]

Updated part .

The child died on Sep 10th. Looks like an autopsy was done.

Article from Sep 11th: http://www.mlive.com/news/muskegon/i..._at_in-ho.html

This article gives a little bit more info of violations & revoking her license: http://www.grandhaventribune.com/article/647581

The more detailed article has the full report available as a pdf that you can download.

Original Post:

http://touch.woodtv.com/10000/113362067

The title says it all.

[Maria2013]

we do not know what really killed that baby, I feel for all involved here

[Josiegirl]

Such a tragedy and scary for any dcp to read. Are they doing an autopsy or would they even know if the med. caused his death? So many things wrong with that picture.

[Unregistered]

the article didn't say if baby was placed on stomach or back
do you know how the baby was sleeping?
also I have given my own babies that same amount of tylenol at this age(per Dr. instructions) I think it had more to do with the mattress, temp of the room, lack of air flow, probably sids..but really sad no matter the cause

[Mom2TLE]

I had a mom come in on Thurs and tell me DCB 6 months had not been sleeping well. She thought either a cold or teething so she brought in a bottle of Tylenol for me to give him to help him sleep. I told her I wasn't comfortable giving him something for the sole purpose of helping him sleep. I read this and am so glad I stood behind my morals and did not give it to him. You never know what reaction a child will have to any medication even after they have had it before.
What I am surprised about is the information cards and missing some and that this particular child's name was on another child's card. So many things could have gone wrong on so many levels because of this alone. She was over group size and ratios. This is so sad and my heart breaks for that mama that will never get to see her LO again.

[MyAngels]

So awful.

I'll be interested to see any updates on this if you care to post. It sounds like she was playing fast & loose with ratios including the ages and may have been using sloppy paperwork to cover in case of a surprise visit.

[cheerfuldom]

I had a mom come in on Thurs and tell me DCB 6 months had not been sleeping well. She thought either a cold or teething so she brought in a bottle of Tylenol for me to give him to help him sleep. I told her I wasn't comfortable giving him something for the sole purpose of helping him sleep. I read this and am so glad I stood behind my morals and did not give it to him. You never know what reaction a child will have to any medication even after they have had it before.
What I am surprised about is the information cards and missing some and that this particular child's name was on another child's card. So many things could have gone wrong on so many levels because of this alone. She was over group size and ratios. This is so sad and my heart breaks for that mama that will never get to see her LO again.

I never give children any medication ever. Nothing outside of topical creams like a diaper rash cream. I do not administer medication even if the parent provides it. I found out one time that a parent was giving a child Tylenol before ever nap and bedtime....two or three times a day for months (a year?) before they happened to mention it to me. I definitely provided information regarding appropriate use of Tylenol. This child has severe delays now at 4 years old. I can't say what affect the constant medication might have had but it does make me wonder.....parents think Tylenol is a fix all for everything.

[Meeko]

I never give meds either. The liability is just waaay too high. And quite frankly, if the child needs to be medicated, they should be at home.

[BumbleBee]

Updated in the original post.

[nannyde]

I wonder if the baby was given Tylenol before daycare? I wonder if they tested for Benadryl? I wonder what the normal drop off and pick up time was? I wonder how the provider got by with 15 kids during nap by herself? I wonder if they drug tested the other kids? I wonder what brand of children's Tylenol this was with one quarter teaspoon being a lethal dose? I always wonder why so many of the daycare deaths are found at the end of nap? I wonder why a provider would give Tylenol to a fussy five month old instead if just sending him home? I wonder if the provider and her daughter assistant didn't both dose the child and not know the other already did? I wonder what position the child was in and WHY would it have a blanket in bed? I wonder if they are being truthful about the times. I wonder why a provider would receive a baby at 930 am... dose at noon...not put to bed till 1:30 pm knowing the baby would be picked up in 1.25 hrs.

I hope they tested for Benadryl and I hope they can test for the possibility that the baby already had it Tylenol on board. I hope the day comes in my lifetime that Tylenol and Advil are taken off the shelfs and are by prescription only where EVERY dose has to be accounted for and it is SUPER expensive. This would revolutionize children's community health in child care.



Super fishy specially for an experienced provider.

[BABYLUVER]

This is a very tragic situation. But the comments in the articles were ridiculous! Did the provider do wrong? IDK I'm not an expert in laws in that state. But did those wrongdoings have any affect on THIS situation? Not that I can see.

Now the things that didn't help her case but did not CAUSE the infant's death:
1. Being over ratio---I know people who have larger centers with just 2 caregivers and even some parents with more kids. No problems simply due to #'s
2. The dose of acetaminophen for the age of child (let's assume normal weight for age) was not wrong from what I can see
3. Misplacing an info card does not cause the death of a child. I knew every one of my children without looking at a card. I would KNOW if they were allergic to something (unless they were not previously exposed, but that's no different than any other situation) and simply not give it to them. The provider I have for my kids now knows my daughter is allergic to milk, my son allergic to nuts (severely), my other son has Hirschprung's syndrome and sensory disorders, another child has to have her tr-ache tube cleaned and she has to be fed, another child has frequent infections, and her own has brittle bone syndrome, and she still takes on an infant who she's had since age 6 weeks and several other kids. I've seen her with 11 at once. She KNOWS every kid because she takes special needs kids and does not need to look at a card to know them. She's just THAT good at taking proper precautions.
4. The fact that no one checked on baby for 1 hour. When I went to sleep at night, I sure did not get up to check on my children. The thing is? If I was already getting up, Id check. If I thought I had a feeling they needed checked, I checked. There were many times that was over an hour. With daycare, I did it in my house and we were all in one room so I was just there anyway. However, keep in mind, death comes fast and quick so she could have checked 5 minutes before and the child could have seemed fine, only to pass later and nothing anyone could do about it. Life isn't promised to ANYONE, and while it's sad, it's not a cause of death. Should she have checked? Sure. I would have if it were my daycare kids.


The things that (possibly) could have caused the baby to die: (Remembering cause of death has not been released):
1. Since no permission card from parent to administer medications, the child could have been unknowingly overdosed (i.e. parent dosed then provider dosed). The parent wouldn't say anything because she'd assume that since nothing was ever agreed upon for administering meds, that meds would not be administered. Whereby the provider should have had the foresight to contact the parent to obtain permission. EVEN WHEN I had permission to administer (whatever meds listed/dose/route/dr. signatures/parent signatures) I always called the parents first. There WERE 2 times I offered to administer tylenol or motrin, and the parent gave me info that vital information they'd done it. OK. That calling gave me the info I needed to make a decisions: USUALLY it was parent came to grab the kids. Since they pre-medicated, obviously it wasn't working and the child(ren) needed to be home. Also, there was ONE time, a parent forgot her medication form and I remembered her child was taking teething tablets. I had no form, but we (at that time) were allowed to obtain verbal permission with instructions. So I could call her, get the dose, route, time, etc and write it down and let her sign when she picked up. However, it seems this provider didn't do EITHER. That could have caused the child's death.
2. An unexplained condition of the child (undiagnosed heart condition, lung condition, blood clot) could have caused the death
3. SIDS (which kind of goes hand in hand with 2)

I can't tell if the provider did something to CAUSE the death or if it's just a tragic accident and then she was found doing other things (unrelated to the death, but related to the safety of her daycare)....it's all a bit strange.

[nannyde]

This is a very tragic situation. But the comments in the articles were ridiculous! Did the provider do wrong? IDK I'm not an expert in laws in that state. But did those wrongdoings have any affect on THIS situation? Not that I can see.

Now the things that didn't help her case but did not CAUSE the infant's death:
1. Being over ratio---I know people who have larger centers with just 2 caregivers and even some parents with more kids. No problems simply due to #'s
2. The dose of acetaminophen for the age of child (let's assume normal weight for age) was not wrong from what I can see
3. Misplacing an info card does not cause the death of a child. I knew every one of my children without looking at a card. I would KNOW if they were allergic to something (unless they were not previously exposed, but that's no different than any other situation) and simply not give it to them. The provider I have for my kids now knows my daughter is allergic to milk, my son allergic to nuts (severely), my other son has Hirschprung's syndrome and sensory disorders, another child has to have her tr-ache tube cleaned and she has to be fed, another child has frequent infections, and her own has brittle bone syndrome, and she still takes on an infant who she's had since age 6 weeks and several other kids. I've seen her with 11 at once. She KNOWS every kid because she takes special needs kids and does not need to look at a card to know them. She's just THAT good at taking proper precautions.
4. The fact that no one checked on baby for 1 hour. When I went to sleep at night, I sure did not get up to check on my children. The thing is? If I was already getting up, Id check. If I thought I had a feeling they needed checked, I checked. There were many times that was over an hour. With daycare, I did it in my house and we were all in one room so I was just there anyway. However, keep in mind, death comes fast and quick so she could have checked 5 minutes before and the child could have seemed fine, only to pass later and nothing anyone could do about it. Life isn't promised to ANYONE, and while it's sad, it's not a cause of death. Should she have checked? Sure. I would have if it were my daycare kids.


The things that (possibly) could have caused the baby to die: (Remembering cause of death has not been released):
1. Since no permission card from parent to administer medications, the child could have been unknowingly overdosed (i.e. parent dosed then provider dosed). The parent wouldn't say anything because she'd assume that since nothing was ever agreed upon for administering meds, that meds would not be administered. Whereby the provider should have had the foresight to contact the parent to obtain permission. EVEN WHEN I had permission to administer (whatever meds listed/dose/route/dr. signatures/parent signatures) I always called the parents first. There WERE 2 times I offered to administer tylenol or motrin, and the parent gave me info that vital information they'd done it. OK. That calling gave me the info I needed to make a decisions: USUALLY it was parent came to grab the kids. Since they pre-medicated, obviously it wasn't working and the child(ren) needed to be home. Also, there was ONE time, a parent forgot her medication form and I remembered her child was taking teething tablets. I had no form, but we (at that time) were allowed to obtain verbal permission with instructions. So I could call her, get the dose, route, time, etc and write it down and let her sign when she picked up. However, it seems this provider didn't do EITHER. That could have caused the child's death.
2. An unexplained condition of the child (undiagnosed heart condition, lung condition, blood clot) could have caused the death
3. SIDS (which kind of goes hand in hand with 2)

I can't tell if the provider did something to CAUSE the death or if it's just a tragic accident and then she was found doing other things (unrelated to the death, but related to the safety of her daycare)....it's all a bit strange.

The comments were from the dhs inspection that happened that day and the following day. September 10 and 11

They HAVE to do a complete inspection and document noncompliances. They don't know at the day of death what caused it. They don't know how the smallest of details may put the puzzle together. They also want a declaration of the series of events before there is time to build a story.

I think it's phenomenal that they were able to get there so quickly and go the next day.

[blandino]

I wonder if the baby was given Tylenol before daycare? I wonder if they tested for Benadryl? I wonder what the normal drop off and pick up time was? I wonder how the provider got by with 15 kids during nap by herself? I wonder if they drug tested the other kids? I wonder what brand of children's Tylenol this was with one quarter teaspoon being a lethal dose? I always wonder why so many of the daycare deaths are found at the end of nap? I wonder why a provider would give Tylenol to a fussy five month old instead if just sending him home? I wonder if the provider and her daughter assistant didn't both dose the child and not know the other already did? I wonder what position the child was in and WHY would it have a blanket in bed? I wonder if they are being truthful about the times. I wonder why a provider would receive a baby at 930 am... dose at noon...not put to bed till 1:30 pm knowing the baby would be picked up in 1.25 hrs.

I hope they tested for Benadryl and I hope they can test for the possibility that the baby already had it Tylenol on board. I hope the day comes in my lifetime that Tylenol and Advil are taken off the shelfs and are by prescription only where EVERY dose has to be accounted for and it is SUPER expensive. This would revolutionize children's community health in child care.



Super fishy specially for an experienced provider.

The baby could have very well been given Tylenol before daycare. I think that is a major concern for providers who administer medicine. You run the risk of dosing a child who is already medicated. If a complication occurs, since providers have to document and parents do not - the blame can easily fall on you. Now based on the time frame, any dose should have almost worn off - but if he was overdosed or the 12:30 time frame wasn't correct - then an overdose could have easily happened. I would be very weary of even giving my own 5 month old Tylenol - that is just very very young for pain meds IMHO.

For the provider's sake, I would hope there would be a way to determine if the baby had lingering amounts of tylenol in it's system from before daycare.

As far as the blanket, in OK it is still legal to put blankets in cribs with babies no matter how young. So that might not be an issue in this state. Not saying it's safe - but it is legal.

This is a random tangent my mind went down. I am not saying this happened, It is just where my mind went. I also would find the regular drop-off and pick-up times of interest. 2:15 is an odd time for a baby to leave daycare (IME). If that was way out of the usual pattern, I would be inclined to think that the parent knew something was going on with the child (and probably medicated before drop off). I used to see that pattern a lot in parents who doped and dropped. Kids would come in late, giving meds time to lower fever and pick up early right when the meds should be wearing off.

[MyAngels]

This is a very tragic situation. But the comments in the articles were ridiculous! Did the provider do wrong? IDK I'm not an expert in laws in that state. But did those wrongdoings have any affect on THIS situation? Not that I can see.

Now the things that didn't help her case but did not CAUSE the infant's death:
1. Being over ratio---I know people who have larger centers with just 2 caregivers and even some parents with more kids. No problems simply due to #'s
2. The dose of acetaminophen for the age of child (let's assume normal weight for age) was not wrong from what I can see
3. Misplacing an info card does not cause the death of a child. I knew every one of my children without looking at a card. I would KNOW if they were allergic to something (unless they were not previously exposed, but that's no different than any other situation) and simply not give it to them. The provider I have for my kids now knows my daughter is allergic to milk, my son allergic to nuts (severely), my other son has Hirschprung's syndrome and sensory disorders, another child has to have her tr-ache tube cleaned and she has to be fed, another child has frequent infections, and her own has brittle bone syndrome, and she still takes on an infant who she's had since age 6 weeks and several other kids. I've seen her with 11 at once. She KNOWS every kid because she takes special needs kids and does not need to look at a card to know them. She's just THAT good at taking proper precautions.
4. The fact that no one checked on baby for 1 hour. When I went to sleep at night, I sure did not get up to check on my children. The thing is? If I was already getting up, Id check. If I thought I had a feeling they needed checked, I checked. There were many times that was over an hour. With daycare, I did it in my house and we were all in one room so I was just there anyway. However, keep in mind, death comes fast and quick so she could have checked 5 minutes before and the child could have seemed fine, only to pass later and nothing anyone could do about it. Life isn't promised to ANYONE, and while it's sad, it's not a cause of death. Should she have checked? Sure. I would have if it were my daycare kids.

While each of the things noted taken on their own may not seem like a big deal, taken together they show a pattern of disregard for the rules that are put in place to protect children in daycare situations.

The best we can do as daycare providers is to follow all of the rules to the best of our ability so that if the unthinkable happens to a child in our care we can at least have the peace of mind of knowing that we made that effort.

[SunnyDay]

As far as the blanket, in OK it is still legal to put blankets in cribs with babies no matter how young. So that might not be an issue in this state. Not saying it's safe - but it is legal.

Blankets are not allowed for children under 12 months in MI. We can use sleepsacks.