A child care nurse consultant is an Iowa licensed registered nurse (public health nurse) who completes a national curriculum regarding the health and safety of early childhood care and education programs and becomes Iowa certified. This curriculum addresses business regulation, policy, and best practice.
A local CCNC is available to conduct onsite assessments, to offer training or technical assistance and to supply resource materials to raise the level of health and safety practice in early childhood programs. This health professional will aid programs in meeting Iowa regulation and in moving to best practice. The CCNC identifies potential concerns for child development, nutrition, physical activity, needed preventive health services including immunization, potential for spread of communicable disease among specific age groups, and potential age-related injury hazards. Programs who wish to participate in the Iowa DHS voluntary Quality Rating System must utilize the support services of the CCNC to complete requirements for a Level 2 through Level 5 rating.
CCNCs provide a crucial part of the Quality Rating System (QRS). QRS is a voluntary child care rating system for child development homes, centers and preschools. QRS was developed to raise the quality of child care in Iowa, increase the number of children in high-quality child care settings and educate parents about quality in child care. The CCNC provides the health and safety component of the Quality Rating System. A CCNC guides child development settings through five health and safety tools including health record reviews, safety reviews, injury prevention checklists and much more. MICA's CCNC serving Boone County is Helen McKay, RN, BSN. Helen has 8 years experience serving central Iowa as a CCNC. She is also a certified car seat technician and playground safety technician which help her provide an extra layer of service to providers in Boone County. You may contact Helen at 641-752-7162 or hmckay@micaonline.org.