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On July 10, 2023, the Office of Childhood (OOC) received an allegation that Caregiver Amy Koval informed facility director Sheila George that she accidentally fed 5-month-old Child A's breast milk to 1-month-old Child B. This happened on July 10, 2023 at around noon. After conducting an investigation, Compliance Inspector (CI) Liz Hudson has found this allegation to be substantiated based on the following evidence:
5 CSR 25-500.202(2)(A)., which states: "The provider shall serve nourishing foods appropriate for the infant's nutritional requirements and developmental stages as specified by his/her parent(s) in a written diet plan."
AND
5 CSR 25-500.202(2)(C)., which states "If preferred, formulas and special baby foods may be provided by the parent(s) with individual identification on each container."
On July 11, 2023, CI Hudson conducted an unannounced inspection at Little Hills Learning Center Inc. CI Hudson individually interviewed Director Sheila George as well as Teachers Winter Proctor, and Valerie Epps. Staff's statements were consistent and confirmed that Teacher Amy Koval mistakenly used Child A's breastmilk when making a bottle to feed Child B. She handed the bottle to Valerie Epps who fed it to Child B. All staff stated they could see how this may have happened since Child A and Child B have the same initials and their cubbies are next to each other. The center is now using color coding as an added measure for milk/food identification.
On July 11, 2023, CI Hudson made contact with the reporter who had no additional concerns to add.
On August 14, 2023, CI conducted an interview via phone with Teacher Amy Koval who admitted to preparing a bottle for Child B with Child A's breastmilk. Ms. Koval stated that she takes full responsibility for the mistake. Ms Koval immediately brought the mistake to Director Ms. George attention, who in turn notified the families.
On August 14, 2023, CI conducted interviews via phone with both Parent A and Parent B who were both very understanding and stated that they were both immediately contacted by Director Ms. George when the mistake was identified. Neither Parent A or Parent B had any additional concerns or reservations regarding the staff and care provided for their children at Little Hills Learning Center Inc.
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