Head Start ready to keep children safe from virus

  • Health specialist Joyce Young and Head Start center director Sharon Palmer show how the Zono Cabinet works at Hilltop Head Start in Andrews. Photo by Samantha Sinclair
    Health specialist Joyce Young and Head Start center director Sharon Palmer show how the Zono Cabinet works at Hilltop Head Start in Andrews. Photo by Samantha Sinclair

        Andrews – Parents have one less concern when local Head Start day-care programs resume. That’s because each building has a Zono Cabinet, which sanitizes and disinfects everything that will fit in it.
        “We wanted our upstart families and returning families to know we’re doing the utmost to protect them,” said Joyce Young, health specialist for Four Square Head Start. “We want to make sure families aren’t scared to send children back.”
        In addition to the cabinets, the centers have smocks for staff, face masks available for both staff and children, disinfecting sprays for large items, plenty of hand sanitizer and touchless thermometers. They’ve also thought of ways to make sure each child has a way to organize their own supplies so there’s no sharing germs.
        “We’re just trying to protect every inch of everybody,” Young said.
        Young was introduced to the cabinets at a conference, and when she saw the price tag – each one costs about $22,000 – she thought there was no way she could get the cabinets for the local Head Start programs. The company representative understood her concerns, and told her there was option to lease the cabinets.
        Each cabinet is leased for $400 a month for a year. Once the year is completed, there is an option to purchase the devices at cost.
        The cabinets are 77 inches high, 27 inches wide and 32 inches deep. They can sanitize toys, stuffed animals, electronics, crayons, cots, mats, even shoes and chairs. The cabinets are eco-friendly, and use the same ozone technology used in hospitals to sanitize medical equipment. In addition to killing viruses and bacteria, the cabinets also kills bed bugs and lice.
        “We’re excited,” Young said. “We think this is a great asset to our program.”
        The local Head Start programs – ones in Andrews and Murphy, plus Clay, Graham and Swain counties – were the first in the state to have them, Young was told. The cabinets, which are typically sold to professional sports teams and medical offices, also being marketed to child-care centers.
        All staff was trained on how to use the cabinets. The cabinets require a code to lock and take 30 minutes to sanitize the items inside. The plan is to rotate toys so there are always clean ones available for children.
        “We’re doing all we can to make sure everybody is safe,” Hilltop Head Start Director Sharon Palmer said.
        Head Start programs are accepting applications for open enrollment. For details, visit foursquarecommunityactioninc.com, pick up an application outside any of the locations and return to the locked drop box, or call 321-4475, Ext. 230 or 225.