Safe Care

The RMHC Family of Care has a long-standing commitment to providing a safe environment for your child to heal. For this reason, every RMHC affiliated facility must meet strict care and quality standards.

Check with the hospital. Most hospitals will let a parent stay overnight. It is important that you or someone you trust be with your child whenever possible to be their advocate.

When your child has been admitted to the hospital, one of the first things you should do is check your child’s identification band. Make sure the information on the band is correct. Remind caregivers to check the band and ask your child’s name before giving any medicine, test or treatment. Caregivers also should ask for your child’s birth date or another piece of information.

In addition, all staff should wear an identification badge. Ask to see a badge if you can’t see it.

Help your child stay infection-free in the hospital:

• Remind caregivers to wash or clean their hands before touching your child. Hand washing helps prevent infection.
• Remind caregivers to wear clean gloves when they do tasks such as taking blood, touching wounds or examining your child’s private parts.
• Ask visitors who are ill to call instead or come back when they are well. Your child can catch illnesses easily.

We take the administration of any medication, especially to children, very seriously and want you to know what questions to ask to feel informed about any medication being given to your child.

Tell the doctor or nurse your child’s current weight or ask them to weigh your child. Make sure they are weighed in kilograms. Medicines for children are based on weight.

Ask the following questions:

• Why does your child need a new medicine? How will it help?
• What are the names of the medicine?
• Is there written information about the medicine?
• What does the medicine look like?
• Is it a liquid or a pill?
• What color is the medicine?
• What are the instructions for taking the medicine?
• Repeat the instructions back to the caregiver
• What are the side effects?
• Can you cut or crush pills or put them in food if your child has trouble swallowing them?
• For example, time-release medicines should not be cut or crushed. Ask if the medicine comes in a liquid or can be given another way.

Other medicine safety actions:

• Remind the doctor or caregiver about your child’s allergies and reactions to any medicines in the past.
• Tell the doctor or caregiver if you do not understand any information about the medicine.
• When you get the medicine, check the label for your child’s name and the correct medicine name and strength.
• Write down information, including medicine names and amounts.
• If your child is moved to another floor or department, make sure your child gets the correct medicines and treatments after the move. Talk to caregivers if you think there is any confusion.

If your child has accidentally taken a medicine or taken too much medicine:

Immediately call your local poison control center or your doctor. Always keep these phone numbers handy.

IV safety

An IV is an intravenous medicine or fluid; intravenous means it goes directly into a vein.

The area where an IV is placed can become infected. Here are some tips to help keep your child safe while in the hospital:

• Ask your child’s caregivers on a regular basis when the IV can be removed.
• Immediately tell caregivers if your child is in pain. Caregivers should regularly monitor your child’s pain level.
• Ask visitors who are ill to call instead or come back when they are well. Your child can catch illnesses easily.

• Be prepared for your visit
• Medical or laboratory tests
• What to expect with pediatric surgery
• Bicycle safety
• Burn/fire prevention safety
• Child flu prevention
• Height and weight-conversion chart for safer care