One week into camp and campers still without "consent to treat" forms...??

Specialties Camp

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A friend of mine is a first year camp nurse. Among many other problems is the issue that 32 of the campers still do not have a "Consent to treat" form. She said the owners do not seem concerned at all. Of course, my friend is VERY concerned.

Would this be a deal breaker ? She is going to confront the owners soon.

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It's either get the form, or give them NO treatment, not even a tylenol. This still leaves the camp open for a lawsuit if there's an emergency and the nurse either does or doesn't do anything for those children.

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Specializes in pedi, pedi psych,dd, school ,home health.

:yeahthat: Thats when I start calling parents for EVERYTHING..and say.."sorry to bother you but I dont have signed consent" and then proceed to send one home..they come back fairly quickly then!!

That of course is after I have sent out 3 sets of consents with stronger worded letters each time, saying that i will be unable to assist thier child unless I have permission!:trout:

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:yeahthat: Thats when I start calling parents for EVERYTHING..and say.."sorry to bother you but I dont have signed consent" and then proceed to send one home..they come back fairly quickly then!!

That of course is after I have sent out 3 sets of consents with stronger worded letters each time, saying that i will be unable to assist thier child unless I have permission!:trout:

My friend has been told by the camp director that she is not to call the parents. The CD has told them that she is "emailing" the parents and will take care of it. Meanwhile these kids continue to show up for treatment....

It sounds like there is a LOT wrong with this camp. The counselors have been told to not let the nurses kids come see their parents; one of the kids arrived from another country with all of his meds and medical history written in another language and there is no one to interpret.

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Sorry, but her best bet is to cancel her contract. The owners of the camp will surely blame her if any issues arise. If she treats one child without permission of the parents, then she could be sued as fast as you can say go. And the parents would have the right to do so.

The camp owners should never have let the kids spend even one night there without a permission to treat form on file. Children can not even go on a school outing without some type of form filed, and that is just for a few hour trip.

The owners apparently are not too responsible, or they would have taken care of this from the beginning. What is the breaking straw for me is telling her that she cannot phone or contact the parents. Not a viable or legal alternative in my book. She can't tell the courts that the owner said that she could not contact the parents. Won't fly.

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I've just returned from my 1 week at summer camp. A few campers arrived without insurance info, but everyone had parent / guardian signature to treat. It is unsafe for the camp and the nurse to continue without them!!

:o

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This must be a fairly common problem; I see it everywhere. At my camp, except for incoming camper days, I have no control over the forms that are filled out or not filled out. The directors know some families very well, but if they don't have consents signed, I do not give over the counter meds. I will give first aid, such as cleaning wounds, icepacks, bandaids or water for dehydrations etc, but no meds, not even a cough drop. I have no email or phone either, but if the owners can't get the parents to mail/email something, or I can't get a verbal consent over the phone, the camper is out of luck. It amazes me how parents from Spain, Mexico or France, can send their child thousands of miles away, to another COUNTRY, without the proper forms.

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