Injury that Requires Medical Attention

[happymom]

I am kind of feeling like I got mixed information from the director. At one point she said that she faxed it. Then she mentioned the portal, which allegedly is new and she didn't know about it. Then she mentioned that because he was not hospitalized it didn't need to be reported, but licensing thinks he was hospitalized.

She called to "check up and make sure everything is okay" -- because she couldn't understand why I called licensing because she thought this was behind us.

Also the report does not state anywhere that the child has special needs, that was something that I found out later from a staff member who was there at the time of the accident, who attended to my son's injury. I do not know anything about that other child or even if he is diagnosed special needs or if it is speculation from that staff member, or even that it's true.

[racemom]

This,sounds to me like a lack of understanding between you and the director. I don't know if this center is trying to hide anything or not, but it sounds to me like the director thought she had done what,was required and had smoothed things over with you. I can see why she is questioning you calling licensing, because she thought everything was fine and now you call to report it. It is a confidentiality issue as to why it was not mentioned on the report that this,was a child with special needs, we are not allowed to say anything that would allow a parent to know what other child was involved in the incident. Depending on your state, it may not be reportable unless he was hospitalized. I think it is time for you and the director to have a sit down meeting to discuss the situation, or you need to find a new daycare, because right now it sounds like a trust issue is going on with you.

[Unregistered]

(4) The provider shall give parents a written report of every incident, accident, or injury involving their child on the day of occurrence. The caregivers involved, the center director, and the person picking the child up shall sign the report on the day of occurrence.

Rationale / Explanation

The purpose of this rule is to ensure that parents are informed of every incident involving their child. This is important to protect both the provider and the child. Without an injury report, parents may not know to watch their child for possible harm that may turn out to be more serious than was immediately apparent. For example, a child may seem okay after a fall, but may actually have a concussion. Incident reports can also allow providers to recognize Injury patterns and possible abuse to a child. CFOC, pgs. 369-370 Standard 8.062 Enforcement

The following are examples of incidents for which a incident, accident, or injury report must be completed:

*any injury that requires medical treatment (a copy must also be submitted to licensing).
*two children fighting such that one needs medical treatment (incident reports should be completed for both children).
*any bites that break the skin, or one child being bitten frequently or biting frequently.
*any abuse or inappropriate touching that happens in the child care, even when the perpetrator is a child.
*forgetting to pick up a child from school.
*a child escaping or leaving the premises without a provider.

If the person picking up a child refuses to sign or take the incident report, the center will not be found out of compliance with this rule, provided they can demonstrate that they have an effective process in place to get same-day signatures on reports, and have made a good faith effort to follow that process.

https://www.daycare.com/utah/utah-daycare-center-licensing-requirements.html

[Unregistered]

I am kind of feeling like I got mixed information from the director. At one point she said that she faxed it. Then she mentioned the portal, which allegedly is new and she didn't know about it. Then she mentioned that because he was not hospitalized it didn't need to be reported, but licensing thinks he was hospitalized. .

As a director it is HER responsibility to know the regulations. Stating she "thought" reports must be filed only when a child is hospitalized is a cop out. She should know the rules and regulations or she shouldn't be a director.

She called to "check up and make sure everything is okay" -- because she couldn't understand why I called licensing because she thought this was behind us.

It shouldn't have mattered that you called licensing. If she were honest, truthful and absolutely transparent about the situation in it's entirety, there would be zero issues.
As a provider, I have NO issues with anyone calling licensing in regards to my program because I have NOTHING to hide and abide by my states licensing regulations at all times. If I don't know something, I find out. Not only to protect myself but for the family's well being too.
Personally, I think there is more to the story than the director is letting on and she is doing damage control now. But feigning ignorance of a rule or state requirement is NOT an excuse.

[Unregistered]

I think from the start it has been handled poorly. If the child had special needs then more supervision was needed. After the incident you had difficulty getting a response, including a hang up. The plan in the future to avoid injury was to phrase how a picked up child should be set down differently. The plan should have been how to increase supervision, and make a plan to avoid other children being picked up in the first place. A report that was required to be sent was not. The dance continues.

An error happened. Ideally they would have owned up to that, followed proper procedures, and made changes to prevent it happening again. It seems like there has been plenty of avoidance and hope that this incident would just be forgotten about.

[happymom]

I wish it never happened and I wasn't in this position.

[Meeko]

I am kind of feeling like I got mixed information from the director. At one point she said that she faxed it. Then she mentioned the portal, which allegedly is new and she didn't know about it. Then she mentioned that because he was not hospitalized it didn't need to be reported, but licensing thinks he was hospitalized.

She called to "check up and make sure everything is okay" -- because she couldn't understand why I called licensing because she thought this was behind us.

Also the report does not state anywhere that the child has special needs, that was something that I found out later from a staff member who was there at the time of the accident, who attended to my son's injury. I do not know anything about that other child or even if he is diagnosed special needs or if it is speculation from that staff member, or even that it's true.

The portal is fairly new...but her saying she didn't know is crazy. First off...the reg is clear....any injury requiring medical attention must be reported.

Secondly...providers here have been inundated with letters, E-mails, postcards etc...all talking about the provider portal. It's how we renew licenses etc. All traing classes start with as reminder about the portal. Unless she's been camping at the north pole...there is no way she couldn't have known.

If she sent a fax, she should have a confirmation page. I personally think she's lying to you.

[happymom]

Thank you,

I feel like she has done a little bit of covering tracks/little lies. The daycare is a mess, really struggling with staffing and other issues it seems.

I'm putting in some inquries for other centers near by, and haven't put a deposit for my new little guy yet. I'm gonna wait and see what I come up with as far as other centers. I like it here, but have had mixed feelings and we've only been at the center for 2 months.

[Meeko]

Thank you,

I feel like she has done a little bit of covering tracks/little lies. The daycare is a mess, really struggling with staffing and other issues it seems.

I'm putting in some inquries for other centers near by, and haven't put a deposit for my new little guy yet. I'm gonna wait and see what I come up with as far as other centers. I like it here, but have had mixed feelings and we've only been at the center for 2 months.

Go to Utah's Care about Childcare web site. You can research all daycares in your area, see their licensing records, link to their websites if they have any etc. It's the state's official website for parents who are searching. Sure saves a lot of looking around.

[Meeko]

OH...and if your current center takes any state aid at all....she HAS to use the portal. She wouldn't be approved if she wasn't registered and using it.

[happymom]

Talking to her again she knew about the portal and just thinks her system is better since it has parent signatures on it and the portal is all on the computer/so no parent signatures.

We'll see. I expect that licensing will be looking into it and call me if they have any questions. If her records are good and she really has nothing to hide she should have nothing to worry about. I just worry that maybe they have such a "clean" record only because they are failing to report stuff that should be reported.

[happymom]

Lucky me, I am stuck in an insurance nightmare.

[redmaple]

Just wondering if the insurance nightmare is getting cleared up and how things are?

[happymom]

Thank you.

I hope it is. I was trying to be as helpful as possible to the daycare and offered to pay the bill so they could just reimburse me. Daycare says "No, our accident insurance will cover it and pay it directly, please call your insurance company/billing office and let them know".

Since I have a high deductible plan, my insurance hadn't paid anything. I called anyway to let them know and they asked for all kinds of information that I have been unable to get from the daycare center (I eventually just gave them the director's phone number). Then I called the billing department who said she would send a HCFA form and stated that that is what the daycare's accident insurance would need to pay the bill. Daycare says they don't need that form, only an EOB from MY INSURANCE company, but this shows the negotiated rate between my insurance company and the billing department. She said if they just pay that, it will leave a balance less the negotiated rate.

Either way, I feel like it's out of my control now. If for some reason the daycare doesn't pay it, I am going to be stuck with the whole bill (plus, I won't get the negotiated rate that my insurance company gets because now they feel it was not their responsibility to pay). Hopefully they do, the bill was due on the 16th, and I know for sure it wasn't going to be paid by then.

[daycarediva]

oh man. Have you spoken to licensing again? Insurance hassles are a nightmare. I wouldn't pay the bill, because that's admitting you're responsible for it. I would tell the director it is her responsibility to pay it and THEY can wait for insurance reimbursement. Pretty soon, it will bump to collections and be on your credit report.