Your child's health, safety and well-being are our top priority at Camp Kanata. Each year, we take time to evaluate our medical protocols and practices using recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), American Camp Association (ACA), North Carolina State Health and Human Services, Wake County Health Department, and from guidance from our Camp Medical Advisory Committee.
And while we hope your camper never has a need to experience our Health Center, we are ready if needed. Over the summer, the Health Center is staffed 24 hours a day by registered nurses.
We approach supporting and ensuring individual camper and the overall Camp Community's health and well-being in three ways in the following ways:
Community Health Best Practices
Every summer we work hard to prevent the spread of communicable diseases. Under the guidance of our physician medical committee, we practice hygiene measures in the cabins and take a variety of precautions to support camper health in our dining hall. Additionally, we work with our campers to ensure they are well-hydrated in the summer heat and take appropriate precautions to avoid sunburn and insect bites. With the appearance of COVID-19, we updated many of our health and safety protocols to take the best possible care of our camp community. We will continue many of these protocols to keep our community healthy in future summers as well.Camper check-in on arrival days will include a wellness screening to ensure the best experience for all. Additional details about this process will be available in late spring 2023.
Providing Acute Medical Services
Our team of nurses stand ready to provide any needed medical response, assistance and support for campers at Kanata. They are prepared to respond to many of the common health challenges that occur at camp: infected bug bites, cuts and scrapes, swimmer’s ear, cold symptoms, etc. In the event your child visits the Health Center, there is no charge for any routine medical care provided by our Health Team. In the event a camper requires medical attention or service at a medical facility other than Camp’s Health Center, we will contact you to arrange this visit.
Supporting Mental and Emotional Health
Your camper's mental and emotional health is just as important to us as their physical health. For us to support this aspect of your child's well-being, it is very important that you let us know before camp about any past or current struggles they have or have had with their mental and emotional health when completing your camper's online forms. Emotional and mental health concerns are common and thoroughly informing our Camp team about these aspects of your child before they arrive at Camp will help us better support them during their time with us. If you are wondering if something is worth mentioning, please go ahead and contact us, even if you don’t think it will affect your child’s time at camp.
A note about ADHD: Because we have a very structured schedule, children who are on medication for ADD/ADHD often have a better experience if they stay on their medication at camp. If you have any questions or concerns or have made any recent medication changes, please contact us prior to your child’s session.
Monitoring and Being Attentive to Behavior
Living in a community is a great opportunity for our campers to grow in their interpersonal skills, leadership, independence, and confidence. Maintaining a safe and healthy environment is crucial for this growth. Our staff are trained to recognize harmful behavior, are attentive to campers' needs and respond appropriately. Monitoring and responding to inappropriate behavior is a part of everyone at Camp Kanata's job. This includes interactions between staff with campers, as well as camper-to-camper interactions. We are committed to building a safe, inclusive and welcoming environment for everyone where we treat one another with respect and dignity. At the beginning of each session, the Code of Conduct is reviewed and discussed in each cabin and each Camper signs the form as they commit to doing what is right during their time at Camp.
Partnering to Ensure the Camp's Community Health
There is always a chance that your child will need to leave Camp for unforeseen circumstances (illness, behavior issues, injury). To that end, families must ensure that they, or a designated party, are available to pick up their camper. This person is someone who, within 8 hours of receiving a phone call from Camp, would be able to pick your child up from Kanata if needed. We will always contact the parent/guardian first but, in the event that they are unavailable, we will reach out to the emergency contacts. Please ensure one of your emergency contacts can fill this role. As you complete the forms process for the summer, we appreciate your thoughtful consideration of whom your Emergency Pick-Up Contact might be in the event it is needed. If you have any questions, please call the Camp office.
Medications
Campers are not allowed to keep any medication in their cabins - including over-the-counter medications, vitamins, and supplements. Medications taken daily are dispensed by our nurses at breakfast, lunch, dinner, and at bedtime. If your child requires medication at another time in the day, please contact us before camp to discuss their needs.
If your camper needs medications (prescribed or over the counter) while they are at Camp – you will check these in with the nurses during drop-off.
Communication with Camp
Once at camp, no news is good news! We will contact you if we have any concerns about your child’s social, emotional, or physical health. You can count on us to reach out in the following situations to partner with you to best support your child:
- Your child is not well enough to stay at Camp overnight.
- Your child needs to go off-site for medical care for any reason
- Your camper is experiencing a mental health crisis or prolonged homesickness
- Your camper has violated our code of contact
You can reach the Health Center directly at any time by calling the main Camp number. After the office has closed, there will be an option to connect you to the Health Center staff.
More resources can be found on our Partnership with Parents page.