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Jan. 12, 2007
Healthy campers make experience more fun
Summer facilities are now accustomed to dealing with medical needs,
so make them known to the staff.
PEARL SALKIN
Harvey was my main crush in the fourth grade. He was handsome,
intelligent and fun to be around. But every time we were at a crucial
point in a game of stickball (a popular New York City street sport)
or about to take our bikes on a neighborhood expedition, his mom
would track him down and drag him home. Harvey had asthma and was
severely allergic to cats, dogs, dandelions and even dirt.
Suzanne was a motor mouth, a class clown who was completely off-the-wall.
She was very precocious and easily distracted, a combination of
characteristics that constantly tested the tolerance of our fifth
grade teacher and classmates. As my bubbe used to say, Suzanne had
no zitz fleisch (patience).
Although I lost contact with these friends long ago, they have a
place in my memory and heart. They were great kids, but there wasn't
a place for them in summer camp.
Today, a kid like Harvey would be on new and improved medication,
allowing him and his mother to breathe easier. Twenty-first century
Suzannes would probably be taking prescription products, too. And
all would be welcomed easily at Jewish summer camps.
"Every camp accommodates campers with conditions that require
taking prescription medication," said Rina P. Goldberg, director
of communications for the Foundation for Jewish Camping, an organization
that represents more than 130 nonprofit overnight Jewish summer
camps.
"Often additional staff is hired at the camp infirmary to deal
with the daily pre-breakfast, morning, lunchtime, dinner-time and
late-night meds distributions. Most camps have a particular system
that tries to alleviate any 'public announcement' of taking meds,
so as not to identify or embarrass the children. Typically, there
is a separate distribution centre or area that is not in the general
infirmary, to avoid overpopulated infirmary waiting rooms,"
she said.
Speaking of meds, Dana Godel, a Jewish former camper and registered
nurse at Camp Judaea in North Carolina's Blue Ridge Mountains, founded
a company, CampMeds, Inc., to simplify the process of safely dispensing
prescription medications to campers. Many camps have chosen to use
the CampMeds prepackaged system, one that puts each camper's prescribed
medication – for each dosage and day – in marked, sealed
pouches, and others are considering making the switch.
Dr. Sam Gutman is the medical director of the Camp Hatikvah Foundation
in Vancouver. Gutman said of the camp, located in the central Okanagan
Valley on the southern shores of Lake Kalamalka, "We make every
effort to accommodate all campers, with or without medical problems,
and do not limit those who take prescription medications. Approximately
20 per cent of the campers are on medication [for conditions such
as asthma, diabetes, food and/or other allergies, ADD and bipolar
disorder]."
He added that his camp has also hosted kids with Asperger's syndrome
(similar to autism) and Crohn's disease.
"We try to integrate campers with medical problems into the
main program and limit how much they are disrupted from the regular
flow," said Gutman. "We pay special attention to diet
considerations, etc., but, in general, they are a part of camp like
any other camper."
Gutman said that, usually, the camp has one or two full-time registered
nurses, plus a doctor and medical director on call at all times.
He said the camp also has three or four experienced industrial first
aiders on site, as well as multiple lifeguards.
Stefan Teodosic, director of B'nai B'rith Beber Camp in Mukwonago,
Wis., about 30 miles southwest of Milwaukee, is dedicated to catering
to the needs of all campers.
Teodosic said about 30 per cent of the kids are on some kind of
medication. "The conditions that affect our campers are wide-ranging,
but many suffer from summer allergies, food allergies, asthma, diabetes,
ADD and a variety of other illnesses," he said.
"We try to accommodate the special medical needs of our campers
– we can have special food available for our diabetic children
and our children with allergies; we have flexible medication timing
and clinic visits, as needed; we have held information sessions
for our parents with our medical staff and we have even worked with
our families to schedule visits with local specialists during camp,
if it meets the needs of our campers' ongoing medical treatment."
The camp is staffed around the clock by medical personnel and is
about five miles away from a full-service medical facility, he added.
It's a similar situation at Cleveland Jewish Community Centre's
Camp Wise in Chardon, Ohio, where director Jodi Sperling estimated
that about a third of her campers are on medication, including some
who are coping with behavior problems, depression and anxiety.
While most of us are familiar with the symptoms and suffering of
people with mild summer allergies, Sperling and her staff –
medical and non-medical – must be well-versed in the signs
of serious reactions by kids with a peanut allergy and kids who,
if they are stung by a bee or bitten by a bug, can be suddenly thrust
into a severe and even life-threatening event.
"Although peanut butter is available for the general camp population,
peanut products are not used in food preparation," Sperling
noted. "We always have three Epi Pens [auto-injectors of a
dose of epinephrine for allergic emergencies - anaphylaxis] on hand
for a child with a sensitivity to bee stings. There is one in the
infirmary, the child carries one and so does his or her counsellor."
Along with routine care and establishing emergency procedures, Sperling
offers both parents and campers another layer of peace of mind –
empowerment. For example, she arranges for campers with food issues
– peanut allergy, celiac disease (gluten intolerance), diabetes
and other conditions – to tour the camp kitchen and discuss
any concerns with the chef. Seeing for themselves that camp meals
will not endanger their welfare is very reassuring.
Parents can rest assured that their kids can be happy, healthy and
able to achieve at their peak level of performance at Jewish summer
camps if everyone follows one rule – be honest.
Make sure you discuss summer camp plans with your child's doctor
well in advance of signing up for a program, and disclose everything
about your child's condition – from prescribed medication to
personal quirks that keep that child in his or her comfort zone
– on the application forms and in communications with camp
administrators and medical personnel. You'll send them off to camp
feeling confident and they'll come back with wonderful memories
and a can-do attitude.
Pearl Salkin is a Florida-based freelance writer.
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