Helping You Meet the Requirements: Consulting with Local Public Health and Health Professionals

In the CNCR, there are references to consulting local public health offices to meet various health and safety related requirements.  And then there are others that specify input from health professionals.  So, when and how do you contact each of these sources…and what exactly is the difference between the two?   It’s actually much simpler than it sounds.

This article and accompanying quick reference chart, will help you know when and where you need to go for information to create your written procedures and meet the requirements.

When to consult public health

Public health agencies are responsible for regulating, promoting, preventing, controlling and responding to health related issues. Regulations and procedures can vary, so you need to consult your local public health office  in order to meet some of the CNC requirements.

You need to consult with your local public health office for four different CNC requirements.  The following two requirements allow you to get information through either direct or indirect means:

1. Child Nutrition, Health and Safety—Immunization 4-6.b

Develop your written procedures for how to document a child’s immunization information with advice from local public health.

2. Staffing and Supervision—General Staff Requirements–Health 5-1.c.1.B&2

Contact local public health to see what immunizations staff and volunteers in your area need to get and how often, as well as what documentation needs to be kept on file.

This means that you can contact your local public health office directly, check the local public health website, or obtain the information from another SPO within same region as your own (who has already contacted your public health office).  In some regions, public health has come to a regional group meeting to provide direction and answer questions.

There are two other requirements, you will need to contact your local public health office about directly, because information will be specific to your program:

3.     Child Nutrition, Health and Safety—Food Safety and Food Service 4-2.a

Written procedures for food safety and food service must be developed with advice from local public health.

4.     The Facility—Diapering 2-10.a.1

This requirement is ONLY applicable if your facility does not have running water close to the diapering area. If this is the case, then you must develop your written diapering procedures in consultation with local public health.

When to consult health professionals

The term “health professional” has a much broader definition: any recognized organization or person that provides health advice.  This can include, but is not limited to, public health offices/websites (federal, regional and local may be used to meet these requirements). While you are always free to contact a local public health office directly, you may find it easier to get the information to meet these requirements online from the list of health professional web sites we have compiled below. Or, you can speak to a health professional associated with your organization.

You need to consult with a health professional for the following four requirements:

1.     Child Nutrition, Health and Safety—Hygiene 4-3.a

Written hygiene procedures (including those for cleaning, sanitizing, disinfecting, hand washing, diapering and possible contamination) must be developed with advice from health professionals. The Well Beings, Health Canada and various public health websites are great online sources for this information.

2.     Child Nutrition, Health and Safety—Administering Medication 4-5.a

You are required to develop written procedures for handling and administering medication with advice from health professionals. Helpful websites include Well Beings, Health Canada, Food Allergy Canada and the CNC Guide.

3.     Child Nutrition, Health and Safety—Illness 4-4.a

Your CNC program must develop written illness procedures with a health professional’s advice. These include when to exclude a child who is ill…and when to readmit them after an illness. For online resources see Well Beings, Health Canada, Food Allergy Canada and public health websites, as well as the CNC Guide.

4.     Child Nutrition, Health and Safety—Accidents and Medical Emergencies 4-7.a

Your written procedures concerning response to accidents and medical emergencies (i.e. asthma attacks, seizures, anaphylaxis or other life-threatening allergic reactions) must be developed with advice from health professionals.  Again, Well Beings, Health Canada, Food Allergy Canada, public health websites , and the CNC Guide provide a wealth of information.

If, after reviewing this information and the helpful links below, you are still in doubt about any of the requirements, your CMAS consultant is always available to help point you in the right direction!

Helpful Links:

Quick Reference Chart

Finding your local public health office

To find your local public health office: http://www.ncceh.ca/en/eh_organization/ph_agencies
Tip: Before you place a call, try to prepare by knowing which department to call and what information you require. The quick reference chart can be used to refer to the exact requirement for which you need information.

Health Professionals Resources

Well Beings

Website: http://www.caringforkids.cps.ca/wellbeings/wellbeings_index

Book: https://bookstore.cps.ca/stock/details/well-beings-a-guide-to-health-in-child-care-3rd-edition

Health Canada http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/index-eng.php

Food Allergy Canada https://foodallergycanada.ca/

CNC Guide https://cmascanada.ca//wp-content/uploads/courses/cnc/CNC_Guide_2016.pdf

We have selected a few regional public health and health-related websites that have particularly useful online information that any SPO can use to fulfill health professional requirements:

Toronto: Day Nursery Resources http://www.toronto.ca/health/daynursery/

Middlesex-London: Health and Safety Manual https://www.healthunit.com/safe-healthy-children-manual

Kitchener: Parents And Caregiver Information http://www.kflapublichealth.ca/Content.aspx?Id=3

Ottawa: Resources for Teachers and Educators http://ottawa.ca/en/residents/public-health/resources-teachers-and-educators

Alberta: Healthy U   http://www.healthyalberta.com/411.htm