Health Care Center

With your cooperation, our Health Care Staff will make every effort to keep your daughter healthy and cared for during her camp stay. Our Health Care staff provide medical services to the full extent of their qualified scope of practice.

Medical Services

There are some differences between the healthcare at camp and your healthcare at home. Because of the shortness of camp, and our strong sense of obligation towards parents, we are more likely to take your child to be seen by a doctor to rule out any greater concerns. Our nurses may act more quickly to x-ray a sprain or medicate a sore ear or throat than your physician would at home.

Anytime a child spends the night in the Healthcare Center, needs prescription medication, or visits the hospital you can expect to: 1) – receive a call or 2) – an email from our Healthcare Staff.

If your child writes to you about an illness/injury you have not heard about from the Healthcare Staff, please call camp and ask to speak with a member of our Healthcare Staff to reassure yourself everything is fine.

Camper Health Form

It is mandatory to have a current and completed Health Form on file with camp before your daughter participates in any camp activities. The form should include any special health instructions as well as a clear and concise description of your daughter’s health history.

Due to our litigious society and privacy acts, medical practitioners are providing limited information on these forms, so we need your help to provide accurate and important information. This helps our Healthcare Staff make informed assessments and decisions. The online Health Form MUST be submitted and signed by May 1, 2020, the Hard Copy Health Form (printable) needs to be completed by your daughter’s medical provider and returned by June 1, 2020. Exam date must be within 12 months of camp attendance.

If the form is not signed, camp does not have the right to treat your daughter, even in an emergency. Sign-in to your Parent Account to print the Hard Copy Health Form and/or complete the online Health Form!

Insurance Information 

All campers are required to have health insurance. Please provide your daughter’s insurance information on the Health Form in the Insurance Information box along with an uploaded copy of your insurance card. If your daughter needs medical services outside of what Fernwood Cove provides the healthcare provider will bill you and/or your insurance carrier. We advise international campers to review their health insurance policy and ensure it covers health care in the United States. If not, we recommend obtaining travel health insurance for the duration of your daughters stay.

Medication

Campers who require medication while at Camp, must use CampMeds Inc., a pre-packaging medication program. CampMeds has been servicing the camping industry since 2003, providing accurate dispensing, packaging and shipping medications directly to Fernwood Cove. Our policy and procedure for delivering medicine REQUIRES camp families to have ALL pill form medicine dispensed by CampMeds.

CampMeds will fill:

• Prescription medication in pill form (daily and “as needed” PRN)
• Non-prescription items Over-The-Counter (OTC) such as allergy medication, probiotics Melatonin, vitamins, etc. (daily and “as needed” PRN)
• Our camp stocks most Over the Counter (OTC) items such as Tylenol, Advil, Benadryl, etc. – there is no need to have CampMeds dispense typical OTC items.
• Vitamins (for specialty vitamins/supplements, email CampMeds to confirm they can provide)
• The exceptions: Accutane, growth hormone, insulin, injections, birth control pill.

*Our camp stocks most over the counter items such as Tylenol, Advil, Benadryl, etc. so there is no need to have CampMeds dispense typical OTC items.

Why Camp Meds?

The reason we use CampMeds is it’s so much safer to ensure each camper is getting exactly what is requested or prescribed and the possibility for medication error is significantly reduced. It is also good for overnights and out-of-camp trips. We also receive their medication a couple of days before opening day so our Healthcare Staff can get organized.

We have 200 campers and approximately a third take medications daily. We give medication to around 60 campers per day. Breakfast and evening (before bed) is when most campers receive their medications. We need to ensure campers receive the correct meds/dosing and be efficient so they can get back with their friends. Dosing out of bottles or boxes is both time consuming and not as safe – considering the volumes of medications to be dealt out.

CampMeds mitigates the risks and ensures everyone gets the correct med, at the correct time, in the correct dose. We have used this system for 5 years and feel strongly that your daughter is safer. I hope this helps to clarify why we use CampMeds and why it is so important in our setting with delivering medicine/pills to many campers.

Thank you in advance for your co-operation. Warmly, Beigette

Medications in pill form are filled by CampMeds and are individually packaged and sealed per date and time of administration. Each individual packet will contain the exact number of pills/doses prescribed to be given at the same time each day.

Using CampMeds minimizes potential errors; ensuring every Camper receives the correct medication/dosage at the correct time/day. This also allows your child to spend her time with friends or activities vs. waiting in!

Medication at camp is dispensed at mealtimes and bedtime. Medication will only be dispensed at a different time of day if medically necessary and a specific time is written on the prescription. You are responsible to check your child’s prescriptions are written exactly how and when the medication is to be given. For example, if the med is to be taken only as needed, the prescription must be written precisely this way. If the med is to be the “brand drug”, the prescription must be written with the words “Brand Name Necessary” or the generic will be dispensed.

We want to be clear: We expect 100% participation from families with Campers who will need medication while at camp. We will not accept medications brought to us on opening day.

All medications must be registered with CampMeds prior to your daughter’s arrival. The only exception to this procedure is if CampMeds notifies us they are unable to accept your insurance. If your daughter does not take medication, vitamins or has any other as needed (PRN) meds, you do not need to register with CampMeds.

Register at www.Campmeds.com and view their FAQ page for more information.

We are confident this program continues to help us achieve our primary goal, safety of your child.

It is recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics: “Leave your child on whatever medications they are currently taking during the summer. The summer is not the time to put them on a drug holiday.”

Self-Administer Emergency Medication

The State of Maine has passed a law which affects all Campers who must have readily available emergency medication (carry or possess outside of the regular supervision of the camp’s Healthcare Staff) to self-administer in an emergency while at camp. These medications include, but are not limited to, an asthma inhaler or an epinephrine (epi) pen.

The Self-Administered Medication form can be completed via your Parent Account.

Most families opt to have these meds kept and available in the Healthcare Center. If you choose to have your daughter carry her emergency medications with her – please ensure her name is clearly labeled on these medications.

Vaccine-Preventable Disease and Refusal Policy

There has been an increase in the number of cases of vaccine-preventable diseases (VPDs) in the United States over the last several years, including those which have been linked to foreign travel, spread on school and college campuses, or spread at children’s summer camps. The best protection against vaccine-preventable diseases is broad vaccination coverage. Therefore, age-appropriate vaccination of all individuals who will be attending or working at Fernwood Cove summer camps is required.

We recommend all children and staff are up to date according to the Center for Disease Control recommendation for immunization. All staff and campers must have an accurate immunization record on file prior to arriving at camp (submitted with your printable Hard Copy Health Form) and all unvaccinated individuals at camp must have an immunization exemption form on file (please find available upon request) prior to their arrival at camp. Additionally, due to the rise in VPDs and our utmost goal of a safe and healthy community here at Fernwood Cove, we want staff and families to understand our policies for managing potential and actual VPDs at camp.

Unvaccinated children and staff against communicable diseases who demonstrate signs or symptoms consistent with VPDs will be quarantined until diagnosis of disease can be confirmed. In the event that the child or staff is diagnosed with a VPD, the following will occur:

1. Parents will be notified and child/staff will be removed from camp immediately.
2. Parents/staff will be responsible for arranging and the cost of travel or other accommodations within 24 hours of notification. Please be aware that Maine Center for Disease Control guidelines may require no public travel depending on the infectiousness of the disease.
3. Should our community be exposed to a VPD such as measles, children/staff in the community who are unvaccinated but without symptoms may be required to receive immunization to remain in camp. Immunization and related costs will be the responsibility of the parent/staff.

Communicable Diseases

Fernwood Cove also asks you to take precautions to keep your child from being exposed to communicable diseases at least three weeks before Camp opens. CAMP MUST BE NOTIFIED IN CASE OF DIRECT EXPOSURE TO ANY COMMUNICABLE DISEASES SUCH AS CHICKEN POX, WHOOPING COUGH, MEASLES, FLU ETC. In addition, please inform the Directors if your daughter has suffered any health condition that could affect her well-being during the opening week of Camp, for example if she has been on antibiotics.

If your daughter experiences Flu and Flu-like Symptoms- Per the Center of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): CDC recommends that Campers stay home for at least 24 hours after your fever (100°F or 37.8°C) is gone except to get medical care or for other things you have to do and no one else can do for you. (Your fever should be gone without the use of a fever-reducing medicine, such as Tylenol®.) You should stay home from Camp, work, school, travel, shopping, social events, and public gatherings.

If your daughter exhibits flu-like symptoms while at Camp, she will be isolated from the community until she is fever free for at least 24 hours.

Orthodontia

If your daughter has a problem with her orthodontia while at camp, we will notify you and if needed will bring her to Androscoggin Orthodontics in Auburn, Maine where we have a close relationship with Dr. Bauer.

If you are considering braces for your daughter, we recommend you wait until after camp. Initial braces often need adjustments in the first few months. Your daughter will enjoy her time at camp more if none of it is spent in an orthodontist’s office!

Eye-Wear

If your child wears eyeglasses or contact lenses, please send an extra pair. Also, please make sure the prescription is attached to the medical form. Any repairs done to glasses will be added to your daughters account and be itemized on the final bill.

Ticks

Ticks at camp are rare since the camp is sprayed for ticks and mosquitoes prior to campers arriving. When ticks are encountered, it typically during out-of-camp Trip Days and Overnights. The ticks which are typically encountered are Dog/Wood ticks which do not carry Lyme disease.

Deer ticks, which can carry diseases such as Lyme and Anaplasmosis, are widespread in the northeast of the United States. We educate our staff and campers on the importance of regular tick checks, as well as encourage them to wear long pants and/or insect repellent in grassy or wooded areas. We recommend you send your daughter to Camp with an EPA-registered insect repellent, with DEET, Picaridin or Eucalyptus Lemon Oil.

There has never been a positive identification of a Deer Tick on a camper or staff member at camp – only wood ticks.

LICE – NO NITS AT CAMP

We want to ensure a safe and healthy environment for all campers at Fernwood Cove, and to achieve this, we strictly adhere to a NO NIT POLICY regarding lice. It’s important to note that even if your child has no live lice but just a single nit, it will be considered a positive case, and your child will receive treatment while at camp. Here are some essential definitions and details to help you understand our approach:

Lice:

Lice, or Louse (singular), are live parasitic insects that feed on blood. While this may sound unappealing, please rest assured that lice or nits at camp are not a cause for alarm. Our dedicated staff and the entire Fernwood Cove community will show care and empathy towards your child’s inconvenience. Lice are not a significant concern or social stigma at camp.

Nits:

Nits are eggs laid by a louse and are attached to the hair shaft close to the scalp. If nits appear yellow, tan, or brown, it means the lice haven’t hatched yet. When nits are white or clear, it indicates that the lice have hatched, and only the egg remains. Lice eggs typically hatch within 1 to 2 weeks after being laid.

Screening:

On Opening Day, all incoming campers undergo screening by the Lice Treatment Center (LTC). This screening process typically detects 15 to 25 positive cases. If a camper is found to have lice or nits, treatment will be administered over the next 5 days during rest hour. Campers are never isolated due to a positive case of lice or nits. After the initial treatment (day 0), all live lice are eliminated, allowing your daughter or her bunkmate to rejoin the community. If your daughter is positive for lice or nits, you will receive a call or email from our Health Care team.

Treatment:

Initial treatment and all treatment products are provided by the Lice Treatment Center, and these products are natural and non-toxic. LTC will conduct the initial treatment, followed by our Fernwood Cove staff continuing comb-outs and treatments during a 5-day period during Rest Hour. On or about day 3 of treatment, LTC will return for a recheck and may recommend continued treatment beyond day 5. A charge of $365.00 will be billed to your daughter’s account for the treatment, which is our cost from LTC.

Outbreaks:

Lice outbreaks occur when screening and treatment procedures are not followed correctly, leading to multiple campers and staff contracting lice. However, thanks to our rigorous screening and treatment protocols, outbreaks do not occur at Fernwood Cove.

At Home, Please:

Head lice can be persistent in communal settings where children have close contact. Every summer, we take proactive measures to prevent lice within our close-knit community. Your assistance, vigilance, and compliance with the following measures at home are crucial:

Please read the information provided by the National Pediculosis Association (NPA) at headlice.org to familiarize yourself with lice, nits (lice eggs), and their symptoms. Regularly check your daughter’s hair at home to become familiar with the process. Two weeks before camp, examine your child’s head. If any evidence of lice is found, consult your pediatrician for treatment, comb out all nits, and notify us so that we can double-check upon arrival. The day before departure for camp, check your child’s head again. If there is any evidence of lice or nits, please notify us. The Lice Treatment Center will administer treatment, and you will be billed for the cost of the treatment products (our cost).

We are confident these measures will enable us to have a healthy summer!