by Paula Kaye, Head Nurse

Earlier today there were several nurses in the Mirpa’ah waiting to assist parents and campers with the intake of medication. This is one of our busiest days, as we have to document and accept medication for every unit in camp. We actually prefer that the campers bring us their own medications later in the day, but sometimes parents feel more comfortable dropping the medication off themselves.

Once the campers arrive in camp, eat lunch, and unpack, campers in our cabin units begin bringing us their medications unit by unit and tzrif (cabin) by tzrif. As they arrive, we give everyone a brief orientation to the health center, then we begin taking in the medications. We make sure that the campers know exactly when to come to the Mirpa’ah for their medication, as we are preparing their first doses of medication for the rest of the day.

Once all of the units have been through the building, we begin organizing the medications for the rest of the session. Next comes the long and tedious part, the paper work. Using the computer to aid us, we go through each unit again and document what medications are for which camper and when they need to be taken. We use this information as a reference for passing out the medication. If a name appears on the list, and that camper does not come at the correct time, we can find them to make sure that the medication is given on a timely basis. While this takes a long time to organize, even with several nurses, by morning we are ready and organized for the rest of the session.

Of course, we are also collecting the medication in Tzofim and Moshavah. These sessions each have a Medic who dispenses medication in the unit. We help the medics to understand what the medication is and why it needs to be given and when. We then create the same type of computer check list for these units as we did for the tzrifim.

This year we hope to be able to communicate with parents via email. If you have a concern or question about your camper you can contact us at: osruihealthcenter@gmail.com  We will try to be prompt about our responses, but if you don’t hear from us in a timely manner, please contact the health center by phone so that your questions and concerns will be properly answered. Call our main number – 262-567-6277 and ask to speak with the Health Center (x222).

We are all excited to be working in the Mirpa’ah this summer, and are convinced this will be a healthy and happy summer.