Health and Wellness at Camp

We are so excited to see you at GRP this summer! Our goal is for each camper to have a healthy, active, and enjoyable experience. A qualified health care staff member is on site 24 hours a day to meet your camper’s health and wellness needs (typically two medical staff at all times). In addition, emergency facilities are readily available at Pardee Hospital, Transylvania Regional Hospital , and area Urgent Cares. There are a few things that you can do to help us provide the best care possible for all our campers, and we are asking for your cooperation with the following items.

Health Forms

If you have not yet submitted your camper’s Health History Form, which is to be filled out by a parent or guardian, and is available online in your CampMinder account , please complete this in its entirety and submit it as soon as possible. (Note: this is filled out by you, the guardian; a doctor visit is NOT necessary to complete this one!)
Have your health care provider complete the Physician’s Examination Form and update the immunization records to provide us the most accurate and up-to-date information.

Please include comments about any and all illnesses, medical problems, restrictions, limitations, or special concerns, allergies, activity, dietary, mental health, etc. The more we know about your camper, the better prepared we are to ensure they have a positive experience. Remember to sign the Parent/Guardian Authorization box and include all pertinent emergency contact information.

Also remember to include your health insurance information. We will keep your camper’s health care information confidential. Only those staff members who need to know of your camper’s health care concerns will be informed.

Please scan and upload your camper’s Health Form, signed by her physician, to your CampMinder account by May 1. If your doctor’s appointment does not occur until after May 1, please click here to let us know the date of your camper’s appointment.

Daily Medications Procedures

Regular, daily medications are brought to camp in pre-packaged reusable pill boxes. Place the pill box(es) in a ziplock bag with the camper’s name, time of day the medication is to be taken (breakfast, lunch, dinner, or bedtime), medication name and dose listed on the packet. The medical staff will fill the pill boxes for the subsequent week(s) (unless you choose to bring another reusable pill box). If they take more than one medication at the same time, both medications can be in the pill box and they must both be listed on the label.

Note: Liquid medications will still need to come in their original bottles with a dosing cup.

Additional Medical Information

Medications are kept safely locked in the Health Hut and will be dispensed by our medical staff per your physician’s instructions. Medications are NEVER allowed in the cabin or outside the Health Hut, except in very rare instances with explicit instructions from your physician.
Our Health Hut supplies all routinely needed non-prescription medications, so please only send medications that your camper takes on a daily basis (for example, if your camper takes an allergy medication such as Zyrtec as needed, not every day, do not send this to camp, we have this in stock at the Health Hut!).
We will not dispense medication labeled for another person (i.e. siblings may not share).
Do not send any medication to camp with your camper that is not listed on the Camper Health Form. If your child requires any medication during camp (prescription, or daily over-the-counter), it must be brought to the Infirmary on the first day of camp.
If the camp doctor determines that your child needs more of the same medicine, you will be notified, we will obtain the medication at a local pharmacy, and your child’s account will be billed accordingly.

Emergencies/Doctor Appointments

In the case that your camper needs medical or dental attention at a facility outside the camp setting, we will make such appointments and a staff member will transport and chaperone her to the appointment. You will be notified by a Health Hut staff member if this becomes necessary.

You will also be notified if your camper has been confined to the Infirmary for more than 24 hours due to illness or injury; if she has been prescribed antibiotics; if there is a suspected or confirmed concussion; sutures; tick bites; if your camper has been to the Infirmary 3 times for the same issue; or if the health care provider has other concerns to discuss. Please make sure your preferred contact information and method (phone, email, etc.) are current in your CampMinder account and on your camper’s health forms.

COVID Procedures/Guidelines for 2023

Please review our full COVID Action Plan on our website , which is updated as often as we receive new information. We will communicate with families when any updates are made.

Flu/Fever/Virus Guidelines

Viruses are still present during the spring and summer, and because we live in close quarters at GRP, they could be easily spread to other campers. Green River Preserve follows the American Camp Association guidelines for flu/virus prevention. It is helpful to us to know if your camper received a flu or COVID vaccine. If your camper has been (a) exposed to flu/COVID, (b) has a fever upon arrival at camp (temperature of 100.4 F or higher), or (c) has had a fever (100.4 F or higher) within 24 hours of arrival at camp, we require that you:

Keep them at home until they have been fever free for 24 hours, without the use of an antipyretic (e.g. Tylenol)
Call camp to let us know you will be delayed in arriving due to illness
Notify us when you plan to bring them to camp after they have been fever-free for 24 hours, without the use of an antipyretic.

Lastly, on Opening or Closing Day, if you or anyone in your family has been ill or had a fever within 24 hours, we respectfully ask that you not come to camp, for the safety of your camper and all of our campers and staff.

Fever Policy: At Green River Preserve, a fever is a temperature of 100.4 F or higher. If your camper arrives at camp with a temperature of 100.4 F or higher, we will ask that you take them home or to a hotel until they are fever-free for 24 hours, without the use of an antipyretic (e.g. Tylenol). A low grade fever of 99.5-100.3 F will require a follow-up check at camp, and monitoring for the first 24-48 hours at camp. If a camper develops a fever while at camp, first COVID will be ruled out, and then they will be monitored by the Health Hut staff and will stay in the Health Hut until they are fever-free.

FAQs about Health Forms

Why do we need to submit these forms? While our mission is to guide your campers through various aspects of personal growth and achieving goals while having fun, our responsibility is to keep them safe, cared for, and healthy. The information you provide on the forms helps us meet that responsibility, so that we can move forward with meeting our mission.
Why now? Camp is more than a month away! Believe it or not, we’re already deep in planning mode, and everyone from our medical staff to our kitchen staff are starting to look at each camper’s individual needs, so that we can be as prepared for your camper as possible. Dietary Restrictions: Did you know that we’ve already planned our menus, and we’re working with our food service company to ensure that we can get the food we need? It is especially important that we know your campers’ dietary needs at this time. Our Dining Director will be managing the cooking and serving of all Special Diets, and we have an additional support staff person hired as the Special Diets Manager. That is TWO people looking after campers with dietary restrictions. Knowing the number of campers NOW who have specific allergies will help us plan well in advance to ensure we order enough food for each of those individuals. Remember… meeting our responsibility to keep your child safe helps us devote time to achieving our mission of helping them grow. Please fill out your Health History to provide this important health and dietary information.
But my camper doesn’t have a dietary restriction, can’t I submit these later? We still need this information as soon as possible, because WE don’t know that your camper doesn’t have a special dietary need. If we’re still waiting on 100 campers to fill out their forms, we have no idea on our end if 1 of them has a special diet, or 50 of them. So having your Health History filled out as soon as possible gives us that very important number earlier than later, which again helps us to plan our menus and food ordering in a timely fashion. On top of that, we also need this information to know if they have any other individual needs that we can be planning for at this time. Diet/food is important, and all of their other individual needs matter to us as well!
I can’t get my doctor’s appointment until June, can I just submit ALL the forms then? We understand that many of you aren’t able to get a doctor’s appointment until after our paperwork deadline of May 1. This is understandable, and we still request that all other paperwork is turned in by May 1. If you know your appointment will be after May 1,CLICK HERE to fill out this brief form and let us know when the appointment will be.
How can I make filling out the Immunization form easier? Once you type in this information electronically within Health History form, it will save year-to-year, saving you time in future years!