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On August 9, 2023, the Office of Childhood (OOC) received an allegation that Parent A (grandparent of Child A) was not notified right away after Child A (2-years-old) was scratched under the right eye at LifewiseSTL. After conducting an investigation, Compliance Inspector (CI) Patrick O'Malley has found this allegation to be substantiated based on the following evidence:
5 CSR 25-500.192(5)(A), which states: "In case of accident or injury to a child, the provider shall notify the parent(s) immediately. If the child requires emergency medical care, the provider shall follow the parent's(s') written instructions."
On August 10, 2023, Parent A (grandparent of Child A) stated that on the afternoon of August 7, 2023, at pick up, Child A had several scratches on their face, including under their right eye, above their right eye, and on the bridge of their nose. Parent A received an incident report that they could not read. A staff member reported that another child had hit Child A in the face with a pillow, and the zipper had caused the scratches. The staff member said the scratches had occurred in the morning, but Parent A had not been contacted by anyone prior to pick-up.
On August 10, 2023, teacher Candis Cannady stated that Child A was struck in the face with a pillow by another 2-year-old child at about 10:00 a.m. on August 7, 2023. The zipper of the pillow made contact with Child A's face and caused a small red welt under Child A's right eye. She treated the welt with cool water and mild soap. She did not think the injury was worth notifying Parent A.
On August 10, 2023, teacher Michelle Hughes stated that she was acting as director on August 7, 2023. She examined Child A's injury and signed off on the incident report. She agreed with Ms. Cannady's assessment that the injury did not require parent contact.
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