Mirpa’ah (Health Center) Staff

Our Mirpa’ah is staffed 24 hours a day by an amazing team of individuals. Our camp nurses are both experienced and comfortable treating children and communicating with parents. We also have a physician in residence who is on call 24 hours a day and in the Mirpa’ah for daily sick calls and for emergencies.

In addition to our team of medical staff, our Mirpa’ah has the support of our Director of Health and Wellness, Nurse Kim Brigden, two seasonal staff members and a professional cleaning service who will help keep things as organized and accessible as possible.

We feel very lucky to have such an amazing team helping us keep a healthy community throughout the summer!

Off-Site Medical Treatment

Should your camper require emergency medical care, including x-rays or any laboratory evaluation, we will bring them to the Emergency Room (ER) at the West Parry Sound Health Centre. West Parry Sound Health Centre is located 20 mins from Camp George. Our nurses and physician will decide if a camper must be brought to the ER and will contact you (or the person you designated as your emergency contact) before your camper leaves for the ER (except in situations involving time-related emergencies). A member of our staff team will accompany your camper and stay with them until they return to camp. In the unlikely event that an ambulance must be called to transport your camper to the Emergency Room, a member of our team will accompany them in the vehicle. Someone from our Leadership or Medical Team will update you (or the person you designated as your emergency contact) when your camper is seen in the ER and when they return to camp, and our nurses or physician will update you with any follow-up care.

Communicating with the Mirpa’ah

Our nurses will call you if: 

• your camper has been seen by the camp doctor and/or a prescription has been ordered
• your camper is ill and will need to spend the night in the Mirpa’ah (if your child visits in the middle of the night, you will be called in the morning unless there is an emergency)
• they have any concerns regarding your child’s health or medication
• your camper has an illness or minor injury that will impact their ability to participate in regular camp activities

Our nurses will not call you if your camper comes to the Mirpa’ah with a stomachache, headache, splinter, to get ice for a bump, or any other common ailment.

If you have any concerns during the summer about your camper’s health or medication, you can reach the Mirpa’ah by calling our Camp Office, (705) 732-6964. Please be patient with our nurses who may not be able to answer the phone since they are busy with our campers. Please leave a message and one of our nurses will call you back as soon as possible. Medical team email: campgeorgemedicalteam@urj.org

Medication

Please refer to our Family Handbook, located in your Camp In Touch portal, for all information about MedNow for this summer.

Our nurses will give campers their medications at each meal and at bedtime – during pill call.  Please make sure that your child(ren) know their medication schedule and can partner with our team in ensuring that they receive their medication each day.

Starting with a Healthy Community

The health and wellness of our community directly impacts the experience of campers and staff. We want to start the summer with a healthy community. In the week before camp, we recommend extra handwashing, more rest, avoiding crowds, and staying home if you or the person you planned to see is not 100% healthy.  We require that you give your child an (at-home) rapid antigen covid test within 24 hours of arrival at camp and show us a dated picture of the negative results upon arrival. This will help us kick off the summer in the best way possible! 

What if My Child Gets Sick at Camp?

If your child is not feeling well at camp, they will visit the Mirpa’ah and be seen by a medical professional. The medical professional will assess the symptoms to determine the best treatment. We have a wide variety of over the counter medications and will begin treatment immediately. This assessment may include testing for strep, covid, flu, or any other test the clinician needs to assess your child’s wellbeing. 

Anyone who has a fever, covid, strep, flu, or is otherwise not feeling well enough to participate fully in programming will stay in the health center. The times will vary based on the diagnosis and resolution of symptoms. As a general rule, all community members must stay in the Mirpa’ah until they are 24 hours fever-free and have a reduction in symptoms before returning to their cabin. If your child stays overnight in the Mirpa’ah, we will contact you and detail the treatment they are receiving. 

In rare cases of extreme illness and the camper has been in the Health Centre for over 48 hours, we will ask the parents to pick up their child so they can recover at home more comfortably. As always, if our Mirpa’ah reaches capacity, you may be asked to pick up your child until they are 48 hours symptom free and are feeling well enough to return to camp. 

Our goal is to manage routine illness this summer, with our tried-and-true health management procedures escalating situations individually as needed.

OVERNIGHT INFIRMARY STAYS

This summer we will be enacting a new infirmary protocol regarding overnight stays. The health and safety of our camp community is our top priority and ensuring that all camp members have access to the best environment to help them recover from illness is essential. Going forward if any camp member requires overnight care longer than 48 hours, we will require the camper to return home until they are well enough to return to camp. Parents will be notified with any overnight stay and subsequent calls will be made if the child is nearing the 48-hour mark to allow parents time to coordinate pick up.

With your feedback we have made significant changes to the infirmary procedures including the addition of the following:

• Individual Air Conditioner to the clinic and isolation rooms
• Activities and tablets will be available to our campers in each isolation space for patients to use during their stay
• Infection prevention and control measures for the entire Health Centre:

• Additional hand hygiene dispensers
• Dedicated professional cleaning staff to the area
• Leadership Team position dedicated to act as a liaison between the Health Centre and Operations Staff to ensure the needs of the campers are being made during their stay

• Staff Training sessions led by our Director of Health and Wellness to ensure that our staff understand the protocol for overnight stays and ensure they are able to support their recovering camper with any personal items they may need from their cabin.

Tooth Fairy

Yes, the tooth fairy visits Camp George! Well, sort of. Campers who lose teeth while at camp will be given a container to store the tooth in until they get home and can place it under their pillow. Our Community Care Team will also give the camper a sweet treat, usually in the form of bonus tuck.

Orthodontics

Lots of campers will come to camp this summer with braces, retainers, and other orthodontic devices. Please discuss proper care of all orthodontics with your camper prior to their time at camp.

Sometimes a wire or bracket on a camper’s braces breaks or loosens and causes discomfort. We can take the camper to a local dentist so that they can stop the discomfort. We will always call you before we make an appointment for your camper.

Eyeglasses

If your camper’s glasses break while at camp, we will send the glasses to a local optician for repair. If the glasses cannot be fixed, we will ask you to send another pair. It’s a good idea to send your camper with the last pair of glasses they wore prior to the ones they are currently wearing. It’s always good to have a back-up pair on hand. Again, you will be called prior to making an appointment for your camper.

Clean and Healthy Campers

Our campers are responsible for their own personal hygiene. We expect them to shower every day with soap, wash their hair with shampoo, change their underwear, socks, and clothes, brush their teeth, and wash their hands after they use the washroom. We expect that they will apply bug spray and sunscreen daily and that they will drink plenty of water. However, we know many children will need lots of cueing by our counselors and nurses to take proper care of themselves. Although we will gently remind our campers to complete all these tasks, you can help us by discussing these expectations with your camper and have them practice, practice, practice doing these things without you while they are still at home!