Wellness & Safety
Regardless of how beneficial a program could be, it is worthless unless an effective camp health and safety program is in place and implemented by knowledgeable counselors. Will and Mary Page are constantly in the activities with their staff who are, themselves, highly skilled in the areas that they are teaching.
A well-equipped infirmary is staffed by three Registered Nurses, and a fourth Mother Helper, and all of the counselors hold First Aid certifications. The safety of a great camp will depend on the experience and professionalism of the directors and their staff, and you are invited to read our staff profiles, or call the directors with questions.
We are committed every aspect of our campers safety, and as such, have rigorous abuse prevention policies in place. You can read all about how we keep campers safe here.
We hope your camper will never need to visit our infirmary, but if she does we are here to help get her back to camp as quickly as possible. We will give you a call if anything happens at camp that we would want to know about as parents. This includes spending more than one night in the infirmary or any needed visits to the doctor.
Medications
Campers are not permitted to keep any medications in their cabins. All routine daily medications are packaged ahead of your child’s arrival by Sunshine Pharmacy here in Black Mountain. Routine daily medication is any medication that needs to be administered to your camper every day or on a routine, whether it is prescription or not. Parents will need to fill out their health form before May 1st.
Finally, we discourage vitamins at camp. We serve well-balanced, nutritious meals, and most campers would prefer to not take time out of their day to visit the Wishing Well for vitamins. However, if you would like for your camper to take vitamins at camp we will be happy to assist you in repacking so they can be dispensed consistently with other camp medications.
Eating Challenges
Campers with serious eating challenges are generally not a good fit at camp. Simply put, we are too active through the day for a child who is not eating well to remain healthy. We work very hard to accommodate special diets such as gluten intolerance, peanut allergies, etc., but it is important that you call the camp director in advance of enrollment to be sure that we are able to provide for your camper. Finally, please call us before you enroll if your child is a “picky eater.” It is important that we understand her diet and decide together whether we are able to accommodate her preferences.
Allergies and Epi-pens
We do not allow children to carry epinephrine or other medications at camp. We have epinephrine in our dining hall and infirmary, and we are able to transport campers to either of these locations from anywhere in main camp in fifteen minutes. We also carry epinephrine on all wilderness trips and the staff on these trips are trained to either our state or national certifying body provider standards.
We have had great success with multiple allergies, including varying food allergies. But we also rely on college students and short-term medical staff to provide care. As a result we want parents to understand the real risk of their child being in a camp setting. Those risks are reflected in our protocols, so if we cannot safely manage a child’s condition in reference to these we are unable to safely have her at camp.
Diabetic Children
Please call us before enrolling to discuss your diabetic camper. We love working with children who need support in caring for their diabetes, but we want to be sure they are able to manage their diet themselves. This includes counting carbs, administering their own insulin, etc.
Before You Enroll
Please call us in advance to discuss any medical conditions or special concerns that need to be managed at camp. Our first priority is being sure we can care for your child while at camp.
Please note that each camper must provide proof of medical insurance.