Health & Safety

Health and safety policies and procedures

Health Forms

In order to keep your camper safe and healthy, we need a current (within 90 days) physical and signed Health Exam Form each year.

  • Girls’ forms are due June 1
  • Boys’ forms are due July 1

Illness and Injury

If your camper shows any symptoms of illness before coming to camp, please notify us.

If your child is sick or injured while at camp:

  • In the event of non-emergency medical treatment, campers are taken to the onsite healthcare provider, who administers minor first aid.
  • In the event of a more serious injury or illness, the camper will be taken to a local clinic or hospital, and a parent will be contacted.
  • In the event of an illness or injury where the camper will not be able to stay in camp, a parent or emergency contact will be called to make arrangements for pickup.

Medications

A Health Care Provider lives on camp 24 hours a day and a Physician is available by phone 24 hours a day. Medication will be turned in to the Camp Health Provider upon arrival at camp. Medication should be in the original container and labeled clearly with dosage, frequency and camper's name. This includes both prescription and over-the-counter drugs. Please send extra pills in case they get wet or damaged.

Insulin Shots

For medical and safety reasons, YMCA team members do not administer insulin shots or medications requiring similar procedures. We will work with you and your child’s medical providers to explore other reasonable accommodations.

Allergy Injections

If your camper requires allergy injections, please send one disposable tuberculin syringe and needle for each injection.

Food Allergies and Dietary Needs

We do provide vegetarian options when serving meat but many campers have other dietary needs. To ensure we get your child the fuel they need, If they have any food allergies or other dietary needs, please update them online and we will do our best to accommodate. A phone call to the Camp Director well in advance of the camper’s session is also appreciated. In some cases we will ask families to supplement food in order to best meet the camper’s needs.

Essential Eligibility Requirements

Camp requires effort and the ability to communicate. To ensure your child has a safe summer camp experience, your child must:

  • Be able to understand, remember and follow instructions
  • Be able to respect and relate responsibly to others in a group
  • Be able to participate in primarily outdoor activities in large and small groups
  • Be able to enter and exit a canoe independently or with moderate assistance from a companion
  • Be able to right themselves and remain face up in the water with the aid of a Personal Flotation Device (lifejacket)
    • PFDs are provided by camp and must be worn and zipped in all boating activities.
    • Wear a horse helmet provided by camp during horse activities

Bullying Policy

At YMCA Camp Warren, bullying is inexcusable, and we have a firm policy against all types of bullying. Each camper is expected to treat all other campers with respect, and to help each other achieve the best possible experience. If a camper has difficulty meeting this expectation, parents may be called upon to assist

Our leadership addresses all incidents of bullying seriously and trains staff to promote communication with their staff and their campers. We work together as a team to ensure that campers gain self-confidence, make new friends, and go home with their camp experience.

Lice

Please carefully check your camper for nits and/or lice before driving them to camp or the bus stop. Should we discover that your camper has nits or lice during our first day health inspections, you will be given three options:

  1. For a fee of $30 we will provide treatment
  2. You may come pick up your camper, treat them and return them to camp when they are free of nits/lice
  3. You can remove your child from camp (but we hope you don’t choose this option!)

Bugs/ticks

Campers spend the majority of the day/evening outside. There are mosquitoes and flies in the area, and many campers choose to bring bug repellant. They are encouraged to check themselves for ticks daily. The healthcare staff will provide appropriate assistance, as needed, for tick removal.

Severe Weather

Camp Warren has weather radios and access to weather radar. If severe storms are approaching, campers and staff will be moved to a storm shelter in the basement of the lodge, dining hall, or Homaji.