campmonkey

We actually still haven't had a single case of fever this summer. A couple colds and many heat related headaches but otherwise it's been a pretty quiet summer. We did have very high fevers unaccompagnied by any important symptoms a couple summers ago, nothing serious ever showed up.

Thank you hotflashion. I sent you an email with my email adress if you want to send it my way!

Good morning! I am the sole health care provider at a camp in Maine, but I am not a nurse. For the last three years I have asked for Standing Orders but there has never been any. We got a surprise vsit from the CDC yesterday and we now have 10 days to put some into place. Would anyone be willing to let us have a look at theirs. We have a physician on site who can sign our own but he isn't willing to start from scratch, which I can totally understand. Thank you so very much!

Who is in charge of bringing your sick/injured campers to the ED/doctor's office? Would you mind sharing your "protocol" concerning these transports? Have you ever had to have a child taken by ambulance? Who accompanied that child? Before last summer, the sole health care provider at my camp was in charge of transports; one of the lifeguards was left in charge of the health center. We tried changing this last summer but so far it has not worked so well so I would love to get some ideas.

Thank you TheSquire. I was thinking of using meal times to inform counsellors, I might try that. Anybody else???

At your camps, does a staff member accompany every camper to the health center? At our camp, counsellors rarely accompany their campers. I am OK with that when it comes to regular med distribution. However, our camp director wants counsellors to know the outcome of every visit to the health center and I understand the reason for it. We want the counsellors to know when there is a follow-up necessary and when campers are coming 10 times a day for no good reason. But how can I give that info to counsellors if they aren't coming with the campers? For urgent matters I normally call one of the leadership staff but otherwise I count on the campers sharing the appropriate info to their counsellors but we all know that doesn't work! Any ideas??? Thank you!!!!

I hope you have a great summer. I am going back to "my" camp for a 3rd year. First year was great, second was very stressful but I love the camp and adore my campers so I simply couldn't say no to a 3rd year.

How do you approach birth control at camp. We request that all meds be brought the the health center at beggining of camp but have only ever received birth control pills for younger campers (ages 10-13), the older girls and their counsellors don't belive in bringing them to me (ages 14-17) and our administration doesn't seem to care. I think that they are meds and I should, at the very least, be informed of who is on it. What are your thoughts?

I hadn't even tough about that but that would be a great compromise and I think it would better than doing any of the two alone. Thanks!!!

I work at a French camp located in Maine. We are accreditated with the Quebec Association of Camps. Last summer, we received the accreditation inspector. He suggested that campers initial their own MAR when receiving their medication. He told us, my camp director and I, that a lot of other camps do this so that children can't lie and say that they haven't or have received their meds when it isn't the fact. I get the idea but don't quite know what to think of it. I am currently uptading all of our documentation so I would love to hear what others think. Thanks!

I am currently trying the finalise a report I have been pushing back for the camp where I worked for the last two summers. At this camp, I am the only health care worker. I get 6ish days off during the summer like all other staff members but these days off are very stressful for me because I never know who will be in charge of the health center. We do not have nurses at our camp. Our accreditation asks for a minimum of 16 hours of first aid, I am a medical first responder with St. John Ambulance and have extensive first aid training. I also have years of experience working with kids. When I leave camp, they let pretty much any one replace me and multiple people will replace me in one day. They do very basic first aid, are only present in the health care center before meals and turn away most of the kids. I have been trying, for the last two years, to have one lifeguard stay in the health care center for the entire day (they could go out but wouldn't be put in charge of any activities). The direction and leading animation team just don't see my job as being that hard which of course it wouldn't be if I turned away half the kids, never kept the kids who need to stay in isolation, in isolation and didn't try to keep the health center clean and organised. I always come back to an extra day of work on my hands. For those of you who also work alone, how are days off handled? How can I get everyone to realise just how impossible they are making my job? I feel bad for the kids when I leave on my days off I still do because I need the time off but... I plan on going back next year and I want to get our new director to really understand the importance of having a good replacement system. Thank you!

Thank you everyone! Anyone else have any ideas? I have a week left to put everything together while taking care of everything else that needs to be done. Wish me luck!

Good morning everyone, For the first time this summer, our camp director (new from this summer) as asked for an end of summer report for the health center. It's my second summer and I am the only health care provider. No one is really sure what they would like included in this report. Would anyone mind sharing what they do at their camp as far as end of summer reports are concerned? Being the only one here and already being quite busy with my regular daily activities, I just don't know where to start. Thank you so much!!!

Our campers also play "gaga ball". Our camp is not in session yet but last year I had quite a large number of foot injuries from kids playing without their shoes on but no knuckle injuries. Our campers play on grass or grass/mud last summer with all the rain we had. And as you suggested, the playing in the dirt idea does only make wounds harder to clean. I don't know anything about the game so I can't really be usefull when it comes to suggesting a different playing surface but just wanted to let you know that you're not the only one dealing with "gaga ball" injuries.

Would you mind sharing what you have so far. I am also the only health care worker at the camp where I work, a Canadian camp based in Maine, and have been trying to set-up new procedures for quarantines. I would also add something about special meal accomodations if applicable. This was a big issue for me last year and I can't really be of any help here since I am still working on setting something up with the kitchen. Make sure you share your procedure with the kitchen before summer starts. Have a great summer at camp, I am leaving tommorow!

Thank you for your replies. DanaCharlee, I am with you on letting campers come during rest period so that they don't have to miss activities and I will discuss this with our leadership team before camp starts. They are the ones who have a problem with this. I am not someone who can nap so it's not really an issue for me as long as I can take a couple of minutes for myself after once the kids are out an about around camp. Awsmfun, I will try to see if I can do sick assessments after breakfast to calm the pre-breakfast rush. We will just have to see if counsellors accept that idea, I have a feeling it won't go so well! But I do think it would work better for me. Thanks again!

Alright, this is my last thread today! Seems I am on a roll, I can't wait for summer :) I am looking to set a few simple rules in the health center and suggest a couple of health rules around camp and would love to have some imput on it. Our health center is always open and everyone is used to just coming in and doing as they please! When I used to work as a camp counsellor, our camp infirmary had a few set rules that I liked. We took our shoes off at the door, a staff member always had to come in with the camper and voices had to be kept low. Only one camper was allowed in the nurse's office at a time. No one was allowed in the sick room (room with all the beds for the kids who had to stay), except when they were allowed to do so by the nurse. At the camp where I work now, everyone keeps there shoes one which made for horribly messy floors with all the rain we had this summer, talks has if they were still outside, campers are encouraged to come alone or with friends (yup, not just one of them!) and chaos can quickly build up if I'm not paying attention to the waiting hall, which means I have to keep my door wide open! Kids are always trying to come in together in my office which I only allow when they are friends and both need something and are willing to be seen together. The problem is the people who replace me will let 3-4 of them in at the same time!!! Everyone also feels like they can use the bathroom, which I do not allow but can't always manage in rush-hour and feel like they can go visit their friends in the sick room at any time. That last one really gets to me as I want this room to remain quiet and it serves as an isolation room for feverish campers. Our doctor, who by the way, wrote our isolation protocol, took a picture of one of my sickest kids surrounded by friends in that room while I was off. I was boiling when I saw that picture especially since half the cabin came down ith the same thing in the following days. So here are a couple ideas I want to glue to the wall this summer and make clear to counsellors before the summer begins. I would love to hear you rules :) 1. No shoes allowed! We have a nice porch where they can be left. 2. Inside voices only. 3. You may bring ONE friend, they will be sent away if too many people are in the waiting area :) (Do your campers come with staff members?) 4. The bathroom may only be used by sick kids and health center staff. 5. Consult with health center staff before entering sick room. I would also love to hear what general rules your camp uses to keep campers safe around camp. More specifically, what are your camp guidelines regarding: 1. Footwear 2. Water/Hydration 3. Sun protection 4. Handwashing 5. Etc. Thank you so much!

Would you mind sharing what a day looks like for you at camp? Last year, I was asked to set specific times for visits to the health center (which of course remains open for emergencies at all times) but it was hard to implement as everyone is very set in their own little routines. I plan on setting more specific times this year and making them clear before the campers arrive but I am still debating on what the best times would be. Here is what I tried last summer. Keep in mind that I am the sole person responsible of all first aid. I would love to see what others do 7:00 - Up for the day! 7:30 - Campers come in for morning meds, campers also come with all kinds of little complaints (lots of headaches and sore throats), most campers take their time and there is a big rush around 8:20 (told counsellors this needed to be fixed but nothing seems to work, ANY IDEAS!) 8:30 - Breakfast 9:00 - Campers are SUPPOSED to get ready for inspections but love to stop by :), call campers who have missed morning meds (how do you emphasised just how important it is for counsellors to send their kids at the right times?) 9:00 - 11:40 - Do admin stuff, cleaning, camping prep, etc. 11:40 - Free time for campers, lunch meds and open for all booboos 12:15 - Lunch 1:00 - Nap time, lots of campers think this is a good time to visit but staff doesn't! Do you prefer to see campers before or after lunch? Afternoon - Do admin stuff, cleaning, camping prep, etc. 5:40 - Free time for campers, dinner meds and open for all booboos 6:15 - Dinner 8:15 - End of activities for younger campers (8-13), evening meds and LOTS OF PROBLEMS :), busiest time of the day, some campers do not come and it is hard to get to them at this time and we can't use the speakers once the kids are in bed and I cannot really leave the health center at this time (once again, how do you emphasised just how important it is for counsellors to send their kids at the right times?) I have often ended up on cabin steps giving meds after having to wake some of the youngest once I was done with the other campers. 8:50 - Lights Out for younger campers (8-13) 9:30 - Staff Meeting, will often be called to give meds to older campers, homesick kids and other issues Closing - We don't have a set time for this since the older campers don't have a set bedtime, would it be OK to ask that they come down from their activities around 9-9:30 before the staff meeting or do you prefer they finish their activities before coming to you. In the last years, a lot of health personnel has let them keep their meds but I ABSOLUTELY REFUSE TO DO SO!!! We had a lot of fevers and overnight stays this summer so always having campers and staff with little problems waking in was an issue. I don't mind taking care of sore throats but it just seems like most of the kids are looking for a way out of the activities they don't like. Thanks!

Would anyone mind sharing their camp standing orders? The camp where I work as never had any and I would love to show an example to our visiting doctor to discuss setting up our own this summer. We have a consent form that all parents are required to sign and return to us before the beginning of camp and only administer the medications listed both don't have any specific guidelines to follow. Thanks!

That would make me boil! At our camp, we keep campers with fractures if the camp director, the nurse or other person in charge of first aid, our doctor, the camper's parents and the camper feel it's in their best interest to stay at camp. We had 3 fractures at camp this summer and all of them stayed at camp. They only stayed in the infirmary when their cabin was away on camping trips and would otherwise come for medication, ice and shower time (we have a bath which was essential). I was against having one of them with a severe tibial fracture stay but she was a fighter, her cabin was awesome and were ready to do anything to keep her and our doctor finaly decided he would buy us a wheelchair so that her cabin could help her get around on longer "trips". It turned out great and we cannot wait to have that cabin back next year. It was a great bonding experience for them and a great preparation for their 7 days hiking trip coming up this summer. We did have two seniors stay in the infirmary for LONG periods of time (up to two weeks), one during each of our sessions following hiking injuries. Both our doctor and myself were against it. They stayed in the infirmary at night but we did get them to join other groups/help out around camp. There was no way they were staying inside all day watching TV. We actually don't have TVs at camp so they spent their time in the infirmary reading :)

I can't really answer any of your questions had I am the only permanent health staff on site. I am trained as a Advanced Medical First Responder. We also have a pediatric ER doc who stays at camp for most of the summer but he only sees the patients I refer to him. I am in charge from the time our campers get up to the time they go to bed. I am also the one in charge when something happens at night. This only happened a couple of times last year. The normally just come and knock on my door as I sleep in the health center. I get 12 hours off every 7-10 days like everyone else. I would to know how other nurses that are alone manage time off. During our first session, a mom/nurse who visits camp and once worked as the camp nurse replaces me when I'm off or have to go to appointments/ER. It's a little bit harder during our second session when different camp leaders replace me. I think I am going to try training 2-3 staff to replace me this summer. I was told I didn't have to do this last year (my first time) but it didn't turn-out so well.

I am new to camp nursing. I did it for the first time this summer and absolutly loved it. There was just one problem, the lack of directions. They showed me the health center and left me to decide most things; I was the only nurse, with one doctor being available for special questions. This is a camp where most of the staff and campers are returning staff and campers and so they can be pretty attached to the ways that things have been done. So I was left to my own device but had to figure out how things had been done in the past. There were no guidelines for meds distribution, overnight stays, hours for consultations, etc. I want and have been encouraged to make up a manual with all the info future nurses could use (hours, meds, camp activities, isolation procedures, general intervention guidelines, etc.) but have a hard time figuring out where to start and was wondering if any of you had a sample manual like this that you wouldn't mind sharing. I am also looking for suggestions concerning: - Pre-camp first aid training and info to counsellors and other staff - Times of operation for health center - Meds distribution - Isolation procedures - Standing orders - Rules in the health lodge (do you require the kids be accompanied by staff? and any other rules) - First and last day procedings (do you do head checks? how do you do them if you do?) - What kind of documentation do you use for meds, simple injuries, larger injuries? Any help would be greatly appreciated. I want to get this all organised before the summer because even if I had tons of ideas during the summer, I simply had no time to do so. Thanks a lot!