I'm at a camp where there's about 150 campers at any given time. We "require" Camp Meds but at least half of the families disregard using it. Since my camp made the decision to charge non-compliant families a $100 filling fee, I decided to be a responsible role model and go through them for the first time, even though I'M the one pouring my own children's meds.
From a parent's point of view, Camp Meds is a royal pain in the butt. I already had renewable scrips going from my local pharmacy (literally three blocks away) and it was a huge hassle to obtain new scrips from both our very reluctant PCP and psychiatrist. One didn't even understand our request for a new paper scrip and my husband picked up a useless printed list of my child's med, only to have to drive back a second time to their office to get the right thing. Then I had to register both children at $50/camper (a huge chunk of change for us) and THEN get those scrips mailed to their Florida address by a certain date or else they'd charge another $25/camper. That sounded easy enough until I had to wait days for the right scrips to be available from the doctors, so we made that cutoff just in time. Now Camp Meds is calling to tell me that my check card isn't working for them to charge me for the copays, although I know there's money in my account. So extra phone calls to them and the credit union to straighten that out.
It was so easy last year to just bring the meds in the original bottles in little ziplock baggies w my girls' names on them and put them in the correct alphabetized bin, where their clunky, cumbersome Camp Meds pill bubble card was placed in anyway. (Our head nurse decided she didn't like the package strips, so Camp Meds offered us the bubble packs. Their marketing sample, which was small and slim and contained cute M&Ms, was nothing like what we received- large, reusable plastic holders with flimsy paper bubble holders clipped within. Plus they want us to return the plastic holders to them in postage-paid boxes.) What a racket these people have going!!
Maybe things are different at a camp with double or triple the number of campers that we have, but Camp Meds makes things extra difficult as a nurse, too. Extra steps, extra documentation, extra people to communicate with, extra storage space used up in limited med cabinets. Our nursing staff has been discussing giving up on Camp Meds all together next year. I'll be so glad to see it go!!
As a nurse and a parent I see the benefits and the hassles. I did camp meds last year because I thought it would be easier, even though I was the only one giving the meds and she was my daughter. I thought every thing cam prepackaged. Nope, her allergy medicine came in the same big messy bottle we have at home. So what did I need them for? This year she is also taking singular. I didn't even know we were going this year until June 1. Now camp meds wants me to pay $60 to package her singulair and send a bottle? They didn't even send anything to measure it with. I'm just bringing it myself, considering it a job perk.
Are you guys working at camps that have campers all summer long? We change campers every week (some campers stay for multiple weeks) and I'm wondering if camp meds or something similar would be a benefit or not to a small camp with 150 campers.
I wouldn't bother with camp Meds for short stay camps. It's a headache but worth it when we keep the same kids all season. If we didn't im not sure it would be worth fighting the parents for. I'll check back at the end of summer this is the first year I will be at a camp that has two three week sessions rather than one eight week term.
I am trying to understand what are to pros and cons of this service. If you can improve them what would it be and what do you like about the packaging?
I am trying to understand what are to pros and cons of this service. If you can improve them what would it be and what do you like about the packaging?
Hi Colin. Are you a nurse? I just want to provide you with the best answer to your question.
My camp is using them for the first time this year. We held off a few years until the reviews in general started being more positive and other local camps were using them with great feedback. Fingers crossed that the opinions have shifted since this thread was made a few years ago.
We don't use CampMeds at my camp, but I wish we did for some reasons. I work a boarding school during the year and "campmeds" becomes "schoolmeds" during the year. We use them for our meds. As others have mentioned Dana is wonderful to work with. We had a bunch of issues this year with another person there...
at the camp I am at we pack out a ton of meds each week for trips... it really is an error waiting To happen. Also technically repacking meds is out of our scope of practice
Twofastdogs
5 Posts
As a nurse and a parent I see the benefits and the hassles. I did camp meds last year because I thought it would be easier, even though I was the only one giving the meds and she was my daughter. I thought every thing cam prepackaged. Nope, her allergy medicine came in the same big messy bottle we have at home. So what did I need them for? This year she is also taking singular. I didn't even know we were going this year until June 1. Now camp meds wants me to pay $60 to package her singulair and send a bottle? They didn't even send anything to measure it with. I'm just bringing it myself, considering it a job perk.