The camp's philosophy toward "Health Care" is derived from the first four letters of the word: health. The camp environment is considered to be one that adds health to the individual rather than subtracting illness from an individual. The camp's mission addresses the protection and development of the whole child, and health and wellness is a component which helps to sustain and promote the wholeness of the child / youth.
Be sure you are familiar and feel comfortable with these policies and practices.
GG hires two camp nurses (at least one R.N.) for the summer to ensure that there is a nurse at camp at all times. There is a physician for each camp session that is available at camp check-in and backs up the camp nurse for any problems and consultation. Our new Health Center is centrally located and is a camp care facility complete with isolation and treatment areas. The nurse schedules hours for routine or non-urgent medical needs and is on 24-hour on call for emergencies. GG provides first aid and treatment for minor acute health problems at the GG Health Center. This includes care for cuts, bruises, splinters, mild cold symptoms, mild diarrhea, conjunctivitis and other common nd non-serious conditions. The camp has rapid strep tests and, if positive, the staff will treat with appropriate antibiotics. For all other conditions the child will be seen in a near-by medical facility depending upon the severity of the illness.
Medications
No vitamins, minerals, supplements or homeopathic medications will be accepted or administered at camp. Over-the-counter medications will only be given if accompanied by documentation in the GG Health Form from the camper health care provider. Camp maintains a variety of over-the-counter medications for use as required by the medical staff. Staff and campers are not permitted to keep medications in their trunks, cabins or dorms.
EMS
Geneva Glen is served by local ambulance and fire-fighting personnel which has a five to ten minute response time. Our camp is within 20 minutes of a public health clinic, an urgent care medical facility and two major hospitals in Denver.
Health Form
The GG Health Form must be complete and submitted prior to camp for all campers and staff.
This includes:
- Health insurance information and a copy of a health insurance card.
- A list of ALL prescribed medications.
- A description of all medical conditions including those that require medication(s).
- A health care plan from the primary care provider for any chronic illness/condition.
- The GG Health Form signed by a licensed physician, physician assistant or nurse practitioner.
- A record of the camper/staff up to date immunizations.
When Do You Need a Physical?
A physical exam is required for admission and must be current within twenty-four months of attendance. The Physician’s Exam Form is on Page 4 of the camp’s Health Form and it may be submitted separately. You may access the Health Form online in a PDF file format (in the “parents” section of the camp’s web site) which can be downloaded and printed, or the form can be sent to you by fax or mail. The Health Form states that a Health Exam must be completed each year. If your child has had a physical examination in the past year, your health care provider can complete page-4 of the GG Health Form without seeing the child. Your child’s physician may elect to conduct a full physical exam, but in any case “Licensed Medical Personnel” (MD, DO, Nurse Practitioner, Physician Assistant), must fill out AND SIGN page 4 of the Health Form. ALL chronic medical conditions must be documented on the GG Health Form. For conditions such as asthma, allergies, anaphylaxis, diabetes or other chronic conditions, a care plan from the primary practitioner must be provided with the GG Health Form. If you have any questions, or if you need a supplemental form, contact the GG administrative or medical staff before the summer season starts.
Christian Science campers are exempted from the physician exam requirement but must submit an authorized waiver. The camper’s health history with parent signature is still required for admission.
Policies Concerning Medical Information and Parent Notification
The Geneva Glen Health Care Plan requires a signature over the Release Statement which states:
“I understand that reasonable precautions will be taken to assure the safety and health of my child while at camp and that reasonable precautions will be taken to assure that the activities conducted during the camping session(s) in which my child is enrolled are supervised in a careful and responsible manner. However, I further understand that because of the nature of some of the camp’s activities, for instance horseback riding, swimming, backpacking, teen-age elective adventure activities such as ropes course activities, climbing and rappelling, there always exists the potential for accidental injury. I fully recognize, understand and appreciate the risks involved in the program, however, and with that understanding, I nevertheless certify that my child is physically able to and agree to allow my child to participate in all activities offered by Geneva Glen Camp, and agree, for myself and my child, not to hold Geneva Glen Camp, its officers, directors, or employees liable for (A) any accidental injuries incurred by my child as a result of such participation, or (B) any illness acquired by my child while at camp.”
Policies Regarding Contact With Parents:
Parents and/or employees are notified of potential health concerns identified in the screening process (i.e., immunization needs or other special needs). Should the camp staff observe something that concerns our camp nurse or camp physician, we will contact you.
We will attempt to contact the parent or guardian at the numbers on the Health Form and/or registration card, or the next available designated contact person for the following situations:
- Emergency
- If treatment is given off-site (i.e., hospital or health clinic)
- When specifically directed to do so via written request, and / or
- If a camper’s recovery deviates from the expected course of recovery.
Under emergency circumstances, we will do what is best for your child.
Geneva Glen will attempt to contact you first by telephone and we will use any means available, including fax and e-mail. However, because of timing and scheduling conflicts, we cannot promise that we will be successful in reaching you. The phone numbers you provide on your child’s Health Form and registration card are the numbers we will try first. When registering, please make sure that we know how to reach you during your child’s stay by including cell phone numbers, home numbers, work numbers, pager numbers and e-mail addresses.
If Geneva Glen’s health care provider determines a camper needs a referral to an out-of-camp provider (i.e., physician, orthodontist) for routine health care (i.e., strep throat screen, ear infection or UTI), we will contact the parent or guardian by phone to discuss the situation and collaboratively determine the next course of action.
If your camper attempts self-injury, makes threats of suicide, exhibits violent behaviors, severely withdraws from activities or exhibits serious symptoms of an eating disorder, you will be notified. If your camper has a diagnosed behavioral disorder, it must be noted on the Health Form and the camp physician and camp nurse must be consulted on check-in day.
Typically, we will not contact you if your child is seen in the camp health center for routine problems (i.e., skinned knees, sore throat, conjunctivitis, headache, etc.) that do not require a physician referral. The decision to consult you for routine, in-camp health care is determined on a case-by-case basis by our provider. Please attach a letter to your child’s Health Form if you wish us to deviate from the procedures noted above.
Food and Nutrition
It’s important for parents to understand that Geneva Glen serves over 325 meals three times per day! The camp’s menus are prepared by experienced cooks and the menus are reviewed by a licensed nutritionist and/or dietician. We do our best to serve nutritionally balanced meals that also are appropriate from a caloric standpoint. The meals are generally appealing to children’s tastes. All meals are served at the same time, and family style. Vegetarian alternatives are typically not provided, but accommodation is given for vegetarian diets when it is reasonable to do so. While space is provided on the camp health form to note food allergies or medically prescribed dietary restrictions, camp cannot accommodate special dietary requests or severe dietary restrictions. Geneva Glen assumes that your camper is able to participate in all camp activities, and this includes the ability to partake in camp’s nutritionally balanced menus without restrictions or limitation.
