Working parents now have help when children are ill

As a working mom, Judy Strogonoff understands how important child care is -- especially for when a young child is sick.

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"My kids are teenagers now, but I remember when they were little, would get sick, but I still needed to go to work," Strogonoff said.

For many years, Strogonoff worked as a bookkeeper, which meant a timely presence was necessary to help keep things on track.

"I remember a few times where I actually had to take my children to work with me," she said.

With her husband Donald, Strogonoff recently launched a new business venture based in Grovetown to help area moms avoid this limbo situation. Mommy on Call is an in-home, part-time child care for mildly ill children. A ribbon-cutting ceremony was conducted for the company last month by the Columbia County Chamber of Commerce.

Strogonoff said "mildly ill" accounts for those "in between" sick days when a child is clearly not feverish, highly contagious or otherwise very ill.

"When a child is too sick to go to daycare or school, we can send a professional, highly-screened caregiver into the home," she said. "This frees up the parents to go to work while the child is cared for in their own home."

The National Association for Sick Child Daycare (NASCD) reports that more than 350,000 kids of working parents get sick each day.

While in the home, caregivers serve snacks and meals which have been provided by the parent, administer medication, maintain a disinfected "sick area" and track an hourly chart of the child's temperature, food intake, bathroom visits and sleep.

"We hope this will help parents feel more at ease about the detailed level of care their child receives," Strogonoff said.

Caregivers are not randomly assigned to families or parents.

"Parents have total control over who's caring for their child," Strogonoff said. "Once Mommy on Call is contacted, a detailed bio and photo is e-mailed and parents can choose who they would like to have in their home," she explained.

Caregivers undergo a strict screening process, which includes background and reference checks, and they are experienced caregivers.

"We are just excited to be the back-up plan for child care that working parents need," Strogonoff said.