Ask the Nurse: What happens when my child is sick or injured at camp, and how will I know?
By Jackie Finch
This is a great question with many layers to the answer. With a busy camp full of happy, healthy campers and a big team of hard working staff I often find that no two situations are alike!
For day to day life at camp, I like to remind parents and guardians that “no news is good news!” Minor scrapes, bumps and bruises happen frequently. Campers come to the Health Center and receive appropriate care for whatever the issue–this could be a bandage, a dose of Ibuprofen, or an icepack. These situations often do not warrant a call or email home. If there is concern for delayed healing or prolonged injury, however, a consult will occur with our Camp Doctor. Anytime this happens, we will also call/email home. Minor headaches, stomachaches or fatigue may call for a rest time in the Health Office. If this illness resolves in an appropriate amount of time generally no call/email is necessary. If the camper or staff member needs to spend more time than usual in the Health Office then the guardians will be notified.
In most cases, when a camper or under-18 staff member comes to the Health Center with an illness or injury that I believe needs addressed at a higher level of care, I will start with a call to the camper’s or staff member’s guardian. An attempt to reach the guardian will be made before the camper or staff member leaves camp. There are several reasons for this. Of course, I want to keep you informed on your child’s health. The second reason is consent. Our health form contains a spot where the parent or guardian signs to give camp administration permission to seek treatment for their camper or staff member. Although we provide that documentation, our experience is that the provider at the Urgent Care or ER will often want to obtain verbal consent for treatment. This way the guardian can be on standby for that call. Anytime a camper/staff member leaves camp to receive care, we will remain in contact with parents/guardians throughout, and continue to provide updates once the camper has returned to camp.
If the illness or injury is critical, emergency services will be activated before anything else occurs. Following that, we will reach out to parents/guardians as soon as possible. These situations are infrequent, but do happen; we work very hard along with camp administration and our well trained staff to prevent severe illnesses and injuries, but are prepared in the event they do occur.
If you are worried about your camper while they are away from home we encourage you to call camp directly or email any one of our administration team or the nurse. We are happy to provide an update on how your camper is doing, but remember: no news is good news! If you don’t hear from us, that means your camper is healthy, safe, and having a great time!
