• The new policy from the American Academy of Pediatrics about safe sleeping for infants is based on research about preventing sleep related deaths.  Blankets should no longer be used in cribs.  Infants should not sleep in sitting devices (swings, car seats, infants seats, etc.) except when the infant sleeps while traveling in a vehicle.  For the full standards related to infant sleep see Caring for Our Children Standards 2.2.0.2, 3.1.4.1, and 3.1.4.2 of the updated HTML version posted on the NRC website.   For an ECELS Health Capsule on this topic, go to Publications, select Health Capsules, select the title, Infant Sleeping and Seating Arrangements.  (1/23/12)

• Listen to the recording of an audioconference that ECELS offered on 1/18/2012 for Pennsylvania Child Care Health Consultants, Specialty Discipline Instructors, and Child Care Health Advocates to address how child care health consultation is being implemented in different parts of the state, how to coordinate efforts to improve health and safety in child care with other state quality improvement activities, and clarifications/changes to the 2011, 3rd edition of Caring for Our Children Standards. Click here for the recording.  Listen to the audiofile and receive PA Key professional development credit by completing the evaluation form in the document packet.  CEUS are only available for live version that was presented on January 18, 2012. (1/27/12)

• Winter 2012 issue of HEALTH LINK ONLINE available! To read or download this issue of Health Link Online, click here. 1/5/12
• Enroll in the Summer 2012 ONLINE Health Advocate Course that will run June 4 to August 5, 2012. Directors, lead teachers and family child care providers can earn three college credits while taking an up-to-date college course. The course teaches practical implementation of health and safety in the early education and child care setting. Susan Aronson, MD at the PA Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics developed the course curriculum to teach early childhood practitioners how to see to it that their programs integrate health and safety as best practice. The course addresses how to comply with guidelines of national organizations.  Students say the course assignments are practical ways to improve quality in their programs. For more information, call 610-861-5500.  Updated 1/27/2012

• Make your requests now on the ECELS website for self-learning modules, technical assistance requests or materials.  ECELS has many Self-Learning Modules that are accessible entirely online. Newer SLM's are more interactive and media rich with embedded video, case-studies, thought-provoking questions and attractive graphics. See tips about "Using Online Professional Development" in the Summer 2011 issue of Health Link Online on this website. Be sure you have the most up-to-date, free versions of Adobe Reader and Adobe Flash Player from www.adobe.com. Access these modules under the heading "Child Care Provider Training." All these modules meet the  Keystone STARS Level 2 Performance Standard for Health and Safety. (1/02/12)

• The most updated version of the 3rd edition of Caring for Our Children (CFOC) is now online at www.nrckids.org. Hard copy editions are available to purchase from the bookstores of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the American Public Health Association. Check the NRC website FAQ for ongoing updates and clarifications. The AAP bookstore offers the following three related books individually, as well as discounts for purchase of a package of two of them together: CFOC, Managing Infections in Child Care and Schools, and Managing Chronic Health Needs in Child Care and Schools. 1/02/2012
• Using the curriculum on Medication Administration in child care, ECELS is offering an expanded credit opportunity to those who complete both the workshop and an observation of performance of the skills by a licensed health professional. Observed performance is the best way to ensure correct practice. For details, select the section on Child Care Provider Training Opportunities. Scroll down to the Workshop subsection and then to the description of the Medication Administration Workshop. 1/02/2012

• WellCareTracker™ - This online tool assesses the completeness and timeliness of routine preventive health services received by children. Users enter the dates for immunizations and other health supervision services, such as vision and hearing screening or lead and anemia screening, and WellCareTracker™ determines which immunizations and/or services are up-to-date, currently due, or overdue based on the American Academy of Pediatrics' recommendations in its Guidelines for Health Supervision schedule of services. The software prints out a look-alike form that makes it easy to complete the document required by the PA Department of Health.  In PA, users of WellCareTracker™ are eligible for state-authorized professional development credit. For a demo, go to www.WellCareTracker.org. 1/20/10
• Pennsylvania Immunization Card: The Pennsylvania Immunization Card is an English/Spanish wallet-sized personal immunization record for children and adults. They are available in packs of 50 cards at no cost for distribution to Pennsylvania families so they can keep track of vaccines they have received.  To order PA Immunization Cards, click here or call ECELS at 800-243-2357.
• Health and Safety Consultation in Child Care: This five-part series on DVD or videotape offers both self-instruction or multimedia presentation opportunities. Submission to ECELS of the completed tasks required for self-instruction earns 3 hours of CME or 0.3 CEU credits from the University of Pittsburgh. The DVD discs include PDF files of Caring for Our Children-the National Health and Safety Performance Standards, Model Child Care Health Policies, forms and lists for health consultation activities. ECELS lends the videos and gives the DVD at no charge to Directors and Child Care Health Consultants in Pennsylvania. For credit, complete the self-learning module tasks and the Self Learning Module Registration Form. Send the form with the responses and the processing fee to ECELS as indicated on the form. To order, select the webpage section titled "Publications and Media," scroll to the DVD/video title, click on "Available for Order" and then complete the form that opens. Click on the DVD/video title to view the tasks for CME/CEU credit. Non-Pennsylvania health professionals and early education directors may click here for instructions on how to purchase the DVD or video set for $99 prepaid, including postage and handling.

Welcome to the ECELS-Healthy Childcare PA website. Bookmark this site now for future use.  Use the drop-down menus that appear after you have clicked on the section headings above to navigate within the sections more quickly. When the content of a subsection exceeds what you can view easily on one screen, you need to click "View All" to see the full list of the items. Pennsylvania users can request materials, workshops and Self-Learning Modules on-line by clicking on the item or using the Handy Tools in the left frame of all the section pages. If you are looking for a specific topic, e.g  Active Play, type "Active Play" in the Search Box at the top of the page. A list of all website items on the ECELS website related to Active Play (or any other topic you choose) will appear. Click on the ones you want to view. To read and use weblinks in PDF documents on this website, be sure you have Adobe Reader, Version 9 or better.  It is free to download from www.adobe.com. On our website, you will find many weblinks to other sites with reliable information.  Some are highlighted in the weblink subsections of the sections for Child Care Providers and Health Professionals as well as in the section on Resources and Contacts. We try to keep all the content on the ECELS website current. If you find a problem, please let us know.  All comments are welcome. Just click on Contact Us.

ECELS offers a large number of opportunities for professional development to Pennsylvania early learning and school age child care practitioners. Click here for a full listing of Self-Learning Modules and Workshops.. The listings are generally alphabetical. Be sure to scroll down and then click "View All" to see the complete list.

To know when ECELS posts significant new information, sign-up for E-Mail Alerts. Click here. You must respond to the e-mail confirmation message to be added to this e-mail recipient list. If you have signed up and are not receiving periodic messages from ECELS, or are have any suggestions to improve our website, please send an e-mail message to ecels@paaap.org. We are working to update our website content and improve your access to our information. We welcome your help to be sure our website serves your needs. - Sue Aronson, ECELS Webmaster. 1/02/2012

Since December 1989, the PA Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics (PA AAP) has operated the Early Childhood Education Linkage System (ECELS). Now operating Healthy Child Care Pennsylvania, ECELS provides health professional consultation, training, and technical assistance to improve early childhood education programs in the Commonwealth. To carry out this work, the PA AAP links the resources of government, early childhood educators, and health professionals. 

The PA AAP has developed many materials and activities to support quality improvement in early education and child care programs. Click to See Brochure

Child Care Health Consultants -- Regular visits by a child care health consultant can help identify hazards and risky practices – and help work on reasonable corrections. Studies show that when child care practitioners establish an ongoing relationship with a child care health consultant, their programs improve. ECELS has a registry of health professionals who are willing to help in their communities. Click here to view the newly updated brochure, How to Choose and Use a Child Care Health Consultant. 

Handy Info, Handouts, Posters -- Healthy Kids, Healthy Care is a very user-friendly website for parents, teachers and other caregivers to learn about health and safety topics.The National Resource Center for Health and Safety in Child Care is responsible for this website. Click here to view.

Oral Health Web Pages for Child Care Practitioners. ECELS has identified internet links to national organizations with good information on oral health. Click here for this list. Also - see the newly revised Online Self-Learning Module on Oral Health Promotion.  Learn about new oral health print resources, curriculum ideas, and steps to implement toothbrushing in early learning programs.  Successful completion of this 2008 updated module earns 2 hours of state-authorized professional development credit and meets the STAR 2 Performance Standard for Health and Safety.

ECELS and Keystone STARS – ECELS is part of the foundation of Keystone STARS. ECELS provides professional development, technical assistance, and linkages for child care health consultation services to improve quality in early learning programs across Pennsylvania. For a brochure in English for families about how Keystone STARS helps their children have better early education and care, click here. For the same brochure in Spanish, click here.