Get Medical Help Immediately
POLICY: When there is a medical emergency, childcare staff will try to contact the parent/legal guardian first but may prioritize 911 to get help immediately depending on the type of emergency.
PURPOSE: To provide the best care for the child.
PROCEDURE:
- If unable to reach the parent, initiate the EMS system by dialing 911
- Parents may give consent to the childcare provider to call the primary care providers for consultation if necessary.
- For life-threatening conditions listed below, call 911 and parent/legal guardian. For non-life threatening conditions, call parent/legal guardian to bring child to urgent care.
- See section H-1 through H-5 for additional information on medical emergencies.
SIGNS OF AN EMERGENCY:
If a child could die or be permanently disabled, it is an emergency!
Call 911 or the local emergency number to have the emergency team come to you right away if you cannot wait, such as for:
- Choking
- Stopped breathing or turning blue
- Possible poisoning (call the nearest Poison Control Center)
- Head injury with passing out, throwing up, or not behaving normally
- Injury to neck or spine
- Severe burn
- Seizure that lasted 3 to 5 minutes
- Bleeding that cannot be stopped
Go to an emergency department or call 911 or the local emergency number for help for problems such as:
- Trouble breathing
- Passing out, fainting
- Severe allergic reaction with trouble breathing, swelling, hives
- High fever with headache and stiff neck
- High fever that does not get better with medicine
- Suddenly hard to wake up, too sleepy, or confused
- Suddenly not able to speak, see, walk, or move
- Heavy bleeding
- Deep wound
- Serious burn
- Coughing or throwing up blood
- Possible broken bone, loss of movement, or if the bone is pushing through the skin
- A body part near an injured bone is numb, tingling, weak, cold, or pale
- Unusual or bad headache or chest pain
- Fast heartbeat that does not slow down
- Throwing up or loose stools that do not stop
- Mouth is dry, no tears, no wet diapers in 18 hours, soft spot in the skull is sunken
When to go to an Urgent Care Clinic
When a child has a problem, do not wait too long to get medical care. If the problem is not life threatening or risking disability, but you are concerned and you cannot see your regular healthcare provider soon enough, go to an urgent care clinic.
The kinds of problems that an urgent care clinic can deal with include:
- Common illnesses, such as colds, the flu, earaches, sore throats, minor headaches, low-grade fevers, and rashes
- Minor injuries, such as sprains, bruises, minor cuts and burns, minor broken bones, or minor eye injuries
- For all other non-urgent matters, contact the primary care provider.
Reference: Medline, 10/22/22 https://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000594.htm