Parents don’t have to miss work when their children are sick, thanks to The Comfort Zone.

The Comfort Zone, 1019 Pammel Court, is a day care for sick children serving Iowa State families.

The day care, sponsored by ISU, the Student Health Center, the Department of Residence and University Community Childcare, is open from 7:45 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. on weekdays.

Sally Johll, program coordinator of The Comfort Zone, said the program was started in 1995 when a university assessment showed a need for this type of childcare.

An average of three children are at the day care daily, Johll said. A registered nurse and childcare professional are always on staff. In addition, student employees help out during the afternoon.

Jean Lochray is a registered nurse at the day care and said precautionary measures, such as handwashing and washing toys with bleach, are taken to prevent the spread of illness.

Children who have different illnesses are kept in separate rooms to prevent cross-contamination, Lochray said. The day care can house up to eight children, provided they have the same illness.

Lochray said this service is important “so students don’t have to miss class and professors can still teach.”

Johll agreed, saying the day care is important to children and parents.

“A lot of kids look forward to coming here,” she said. “Parents are always very thankful for this service.”

Shih-Wu Sung, assistant professor of civil and construction engineering, has used the service several times.

“When both parents are working, we have no choice but to drop the child somewhere,” he said. “They do have quality people to take care of [the children].”

There is a pre-registration process that parents must complete before being able to use the service. Parents must bring in their child’s current physical and immunization records and pay a $10 registration fee.

Johll said the registration fee is a one-time charge that allows all of the children in a family to participate. The cost of each visit is based on a sliding-fee scale. Depending on the parents’ income, the charge is anywhere from $1.25 per hour to $4 per hour.