Ensuring A Safe And Healthy Summer Camp
This summer over 10 million kids will be off toSummer Youth Camps. But before they go, health experts are issuing strong new advice to both parents and camp directors, and recommending new precautions to protect campers’ health.
Parents should be sure to ask camp officials the kinds of health services Provided. The experts say, ask about emergency response times, health protocols, and staffing. All camps should require a health exam and list of any medications that campers may use. Today no longer is summer camp seen as a “time off” medications.
With a little effort by parents before camp much homesickness can be alleviated.
Ina recent journal of Pediatrics, new standards were proposed for Summer Camps. Edward Walton, M.D. helped author a paper, outlining an official policy statement for the American Academy of Pediatrics and was produced in conjunction with the A.C.A. (American Camp Association).
“Summer camp, whether it’s day camp or sleep-away, can be a great experience for children — but it’s crucial that parents, camp officials and medical professionals work together to make it as safe and problem-free as possible for children,” says Walton, a clinical assistant professor of pediatrics and emergency medicine in the U-M Medical School who has studied camp health for 18 years. “We hope this new guideline can help with that process.”
The recent study published in the journal of Wilderness & Environmental Medicine shows that almost half of camp health professional reported caring for children that needed significant medical attention. These including asthma, attention deficit disorder, epilepsy, diabetes, Yet nearly 50% camp health workers had medical training at the paramedic level or less. Camps by definition are remote so 40 percent reported it would take an ambulance over 10 minutes to get to their summer camp. Most of the nearby hospitals were rural and had limited services.
Walton feels parents and camp officials need to talk openly, before camp about all health problems their child might face at camp. Be clear on how the camp would respond, and how parents can be reached in an emergency.
All in all Overnight Summer Camps have a fairly clean record for health and safety. Ask the camp owners and directors how safe their camp is. Do you feel they are ready for your child? To learn more on how to pick a summer camp go to Summer Camp Advice. A FREE directory about Summer Camps
Swift Nature Camp is a Summer Youth Camp for boys and girls ages 6-15. Our focus is to blend traditional kid’s summer camp activities with Environmental Education Camp.
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