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BABY UNITs

The suggestion of some plan for caring for infants was made by Ira Es
Nugum, housing manager at Sunflower Village. He had received a number of ine
quiries about the possibility of such a service and felt that a definite need

existed. It was his suggestion that some plan be worked out for care of babies :
by Villace.wemen in their own homes«ethe plan to he administered by the staff 2
of the Child Service Pullding. Upon consulting several doctore this plan was ,
discarded, sineé they were unanimous in the opinion that toe much responsibility |
was being taken for a situation over which too little control could be exercised. i

 

With the present large scale attempt by HKeroules Powder Company to enlist
more workers at S. 0. W., the problem has become more ‘cute, Plant officials
heve suggested the service several times as one which would be invaluable; .

numerous inquiries from parents about the availability of the serviee have come -
into the Child Service office. With this demand it was deemed wise to attempt
to work out a feasible plan for the onveration of a unit for care of infants.

Tt was found that a dwélling unit in the Village eould be used to house :
the infant nursery. A four room unit will be used; one room is a kitehen, one se
will be used for baskets for rery young babies, one will be used for cribs

for older babies, and the fourth will be used as play space for the older babies.

We plan to take infants between the ages of three and eighteen months. Children

over the age of eighteen months will be accepted at the nursery school,

As with all the other services located at Sunflower Village, the baby ote
nursery will be open twentyefour hours deily, seven deys weekly. The fact that
workers on the assembly line at S. 0. We are on roteting shifts (see discussion |
under nursery school units) makes thie necessary.

On our present nursery school staff we heve Mrs, Amanda Duffin, who was
in charge of the nursery at St. Luke's Hospital in Kansas City. The respon
sibility for the baby unit will be hers. She will be assisted by two other -
registered nurses, (one nurse, then, on each eight-hour shift) and by a lay .
person who will be on duty when the nurses take their weekly day off and at
other times when needed.

The health of the infants will be scrupulously eared fors (1) physical
examinations bafore enrollment is accepted; (2) constant observation by the
staff of nurses. Isolation will be possible by the use of the isolation unit
which will serve all of the child care facilities. Be

Mothers of babies still on formula will be asked to bring sufficient
amounts when the baby ia brought to laet through the infant's houre in the
nurserys It will then by the regponsibility of the staff to warm the bottles
and feed the babies, Pood for the older hahies will be prepared in the
kitehen at the child care building and carried to the infant unit.

NURSERY SCHOOL UNITS AT VILLAGE:

The nursery school unit was opened at Sunflower Village on February 14,
1944, with seven children enrolled. In less than three months it has grown
until over fifty children are in attendances ‘The nursery school is housed in
the Child Service Building planned to accommodate two nursery school unites.
Since, at the present time, the extended care unit is also housed in the Child