Any ideas on what to do?

[mommyof2princesses]

Update....So, after an email and a text (to ask how things are going, etc...) from me on Friday I still have not heard back at all from this family (the dcg who has a feeding tube). I am on holidays this week but they know I am not going away and they have a payment owing by this Friday. What would you do? TIA

[playfelt]

Considering the situation I would just wait. I thought Monday was also the decision day for the doctors in terms of what they were going to do regarding the feeding tube, transferring the child to the other hospital out of town, etc. At this point the family likely doesn't know how to respond.

[mommyof2princesses]

playfelt - DCG was discharged this past Friday and parents are doing tube feedings 3x/day for at least the next 3 months or more. They were expecting me to do the afternoon feed here and I told them no because 1) I don't feel comfortable and its a big risk for something to go wrong and 2) My insurance says I can't do it because if something goes wrong they will not cover me.

[mommyof2princesses]

Just got a text from mom saying she will still be working a 3/4 day (like before dcg went in hospital) and doing her afternoon feed at home. She says the nurse won't come to my house to do feeds. This will mean that dcg will not have anything to eat/drink from 7am until 3pm every day once again (that's how it was before she went in hospital and all this happened) UGH!

[momofnerds]

I'm wondering if there this is a CAS case now. Someone needs to check in on this child and to not have anything for 8 hours a day is neglect. You can always call and ask them too what to do.

[playfelt]

When a child is tube fed this is not uncommon. It sounds really bad I know but even as infants kids were fed every 4-6 hours not every 2 like we seem to think they need now either a snack or a meal. With permission she can be offered sips of liquid in between feedings but many kids are on a tube feed because every time they take something by mouth they don't swallow it and it ends up in their lungs causing infection so many have nothing by mouth when tube fed.

I doubt the doctor discharged the child without plans for weekly weigh ins etc.

[mommyof2princesses]

I doubt the doctor discharged the child without plans for weekly weigh ins etc.

She has daily morning weigh ins that they have to call in I believe.

[sunnydays]

Personally, to cover myself, I would request a doctor's note saying that it is okay for her to be in your care and to not be fed for those 8 hours. I would still be concerned about the tube though...what if the other kids pull it out?

[apples and bananas]

Personally, I'd get out while I can. It just seems too complicated, too much risk. However, If I were to continue with them I would ask for a dr. note as well to cover your behind.

But honestly, this is way more then I signed up for and way more then I think I would be able to safely handle with 4 other ones running around.

[playfelt]

This child is a good example of why we used to have separate fees by age grouping. Parents of infants paid a higher rate than those of toddlers/preschoolers. While some used ages, I used skills as my rationale for moving to the lower fee because I do take some special needs kids into my daycare. In this case the child is not walking/feeding self finger foods/using a cup so would still be on the infant rate regardless of how old she was. The extra fee for extra work balances out. I stopped the fee categories when we went to the one year mat leave as it seemed weird to have a child in care for 3 months at one rate and then change rates - just raised my rates to the infant rate and all paid that when they started on and it just never goes down now.

Not so much worried about covering myself on this one as much as I would want a copy of the treatment plan from the doctor for the child's file detailing when and what she is to eat and what is ok, not ok, care of the tube, what to do if it is dislodged etc. All of that should be on file. Parents will have been sent home with info in writing so you should ask for a copy too.