The Kansas Department of Health and Environment on Wednesday, Sept. 1, ordered the emergency suspension of Ms. Jiffies Day Care, operated at 1005 W. First, in Coffeyville.

According to the suspension orders signed by Rod Bremby, KDHE secretary, a KDHE surveyor investigated a complaint on Sept. 1 that the an unlicensed female provider was caring for three infants while the operator, Jiffie Mae Sweeney, was working at another job at a different location. The unlicensed female provider was asked by Sweeney that day to care for the day care children earlier in the day.

Upon arrival at the facility, the surveyor noticed that the unlicensed female provider was giving a haircut to another female at the home.  The female receiving the haircut later left the home with a man who had arrived to take two of hte three children.

The KDHE surveyor noticed that the home did not have a day care file on record for the unlicensed provider or any of the children. The unlicensed provider admitted to not knowing any of the regulations of the facility or what to do in the event of an emergency or who to contact if a child was injured.

Among the other observations made by the surveyor:

• One of the infants was found in a bathroom alone where a hot hair flatiron was plugged in the wall with the cord dangling.

• There was no working telephone on the premises. THe only working phone was the personal phone of the unlicensed female provider.

• There was no record of fire or tornado drill being done since the day care facility opened in May 2010.

• The only food in the home was a partial gallon of milk, some oatmeal and a few bags of frozen vegetables.

• A second-floor fire escape was locked both a lock on the knob and a chain lock.

• The surveyor along with the regional KDHE administrator made seven attempts to contact Sweeney but could not locate her at the address in which the day care license was issued.

Sweeney has 15 days in which to seek a hearing to appeal the suspension.