by Solly Kane, Director

Ensuring the health and well-being of our campers while they are in our care is of the utmost importance to us. While we know filling out forms can be time-consuming, gathering information from parents and the child’s physician enables us to do that effectively. A few weeks ago, parents received an email about forms being available on their Forms Dashboard. Included in the list of forms was the printed Medical Form and Immunization History, which the child’s physician must fill out, and the online Health History Form, which parents fill out.

What’s the difference between those forms? The printed physician form gives us the report from a child’s last physical and the list of immunizations the child has received. The Health History is a parent’s opportunity to tell us about their child’s medical needs, social/emotional issues, food allergies or preferences, etc. It’s a long form, but parents can fill it out in more than one sitting.

Most forms, including the Health History and Medical Form, are due May 1st. Why May 1st, when a camper may not be coming to camp until Mid-July? Because our Health Center staff and Camper Care Team must review all forms in advance of the summer. We need time to read them thoroughly and be in touch with parents to resolve any questions or concerns well before we welcome children to camp. Thank you to all our parents for their help in ensuring forms are submitted by this deadline.

Medication at Camp.

The Health History also asks about medications. If a parent indicates that a child will take medications at camp, they’ll need to list them on the form. This year, we are again requiring that all campers who will take prescription or over-the-counter (OTC) medication in pill form at camp enroll in a pharmacy service provided by J Drugs. This service ensures greater efficiency and continued safe distribution of medications and adheres to best practices in medication management for summer camps.

Parents will order medication through J Drugs (prescriptions taken daily or as needed in pill form and supplements, vitamins and/or OTC medications taken on a daily basis in pill form). J Drugs will ship the medication to us and bill the insurance company directly. Campers will bring home any leftover medication at the end of the summer.

There is no registration or packaging fee to use J Drugs. Parents will be responsible for regular co-pays. However, late fees and rush shipping fees may be charged to families who miss the J Drugs deadlines. OTC medications are priced very fairly. There’s a document on Medication Information on your Forms Dashboard that explains the program, has information for physicians, answers many FAQs, and includes the registration form.

Lice Checks

Upon arrival to OSRUI, each child will be checked for lice by an outside service that specializes in lice checks. This will decrease the chance of lice being brought to camp at the beginning of a session. Should your child be found with lice or nits (lice eggs), they will be treated on the spot. Treatment will cost $125, charged directly to the family through CampMinder. This will consist of manual lice removal as well as an oil treatment. Our on-site nurses will conduct follow up appointments to ensure the eradication of your child’s lice. We will call you prior to treatment; if you prefer for your child to not be treated at camp, your child will need to be picked up and returned to camp with a note from your physician that they are lice free.

OSRUI Health Center

During the summer, the OSRUI Health Center is staffed 24 hours a day by a team of nurses and a physician. Campers who become ill during camp are taken by a counselor to the Health Center. Families will be contacted if their child sleeps over at the Health Center due to illness, or if medication is prescribed to their child by the camp physician. If your child is taken to the hospital for illness or injury, you will receive a call from the Health Center informing you of the specifics, then a call from the hospital staff requesting permission for treatment. Please review your contact information and emergency contacts (on your Forms Dashboard) right before the summer to ensure the information is up to date. You can reach the Health Center staff at osruihealthcenter@urj.org. During the off season, email is checked and answered weekly. During the summer season, emails are checked daily and you can expect a response within a few hours. During the summer, the Health Center may also be reached by phone: 262-567-6277 x222.

Thank you to our parents for partnering with us to provide a safe and healthy summer for all!