Health Care at Beyond Akeela

We are fortunate to have a wonderful nurse working hard to provide the best camper and staff medical care and to be responsive to parent/guardian inquiries and concerns.

Medications

We want our campers to be as successful as possible at Beyond Akeela. If your teen takes medication during the school year, we feel that it is imperative that they maintain the same routines at camp. If you have any questions or concerns about this camp policy, please contact us as soon as possible.

All medications, prescription or “over the counter”, must be held by the Beyond Akeela nurse. Campers are not allowed to hold their own medication at camp.

REQUIRED – CampMeds

In our on-going commitment to meet the needs of our campers as well as comply with strict state regulations, we will be working with CampMeds, a pre-packaging medication program founded by a former camp nurse and pharmacy outlet. Our policy and procedure for dispensing and administering medicine requires camp families to have ALL of your teen’s daily medicine dispensed by CampMeds and sent to camp prior to their arrival. There is a $65 fee for this service.

CampMeds will fill:

Prescription medication in pill or liquid form (daily)

Prescription nose sprays, eye/ear drops, inhalers and creams/ointments

Non prescription items (OTC) such as allergy medication (daily)

Vitamins and supplements (call CampMeds to confirm they can provide)

The exceptions are: Accutane, growth hormone, insulin, injections, & birth control pills.

We want to be clear that we expect 100% participation in CampMeds from families with campers who will take daily medication. If your camper does not take daily medication, you do not need to register with CampMeds.

If there is a specific brand that you require for your teen, you can send it IN ADVANCE to CampMeds so they can pack it for you. You’ll need to do that in the early spring – please do not wait until June. In addition, please remind the doctor who writes the prescription to do so with as much detail as possible. For example, if a physician writes a prescription as “2 times a day”, it will be given at breakfast and dinner. If there are specific times when a medication should be given, it needs to be written as such on the prescription! Please call us or CampMeds if you have any questions.

Any other medication (i.e. medications administered daily on an “as-needed” basis or those listed above as CampMeds exceptions) must be mailed to camp in its original packaging one week prior to your camper’s arrival. Please call the office to notify us if medications will be arriving by mail. It is camp policy not to accept any medication (including vitamins, supplements, etc.) on Opening Day.

You will find details about how to enroll in CampMeds, along with an FAQ, on your family’s online Forms Dashboard (accessible through the Family Log In on Akeela’s website). If you have any questions about CampMeds, you can reach them at 954-577-0025 or info@campmeds.com.

Over-the-Counter Medications

Our Health Center stocks basic over-the-counter medications. The following is a partial list of items we stock and which do not need to be sent with your camper:

Pain Medications
• Advil (Ibuprofen)
• Tylenol (acetaminophen)
• Midol or Aleve (Naproxen)
Cough/Cold
• Sudafed
• Cough Syrup
GI Health
• Immodium (antidiarrheal) and Pepto Bismol
• TUMS
• Mylanta

Allergy
• Benadryl (antihistamine)
Topical Creams
• Bacitracin & Triple Antibiotic Ointment
• Calamine, Caladryl & Anti-itch cream
• Aloe gel sun-burn cream
Other
• Throat lozenges and throat spray
• Dramamine
• Swimmer’s ear drops

If your teen takes any medications on an “as needed” (PRN) basis which are NOT listed above, please list them on the required Physician’s Exam Form.

THESE MEDICATIONS SHOULD BE MAILED TO OUR MASSACHUSETTS CAMP ADDRESS IN THEIR ORIGINAL PACKAGING A WEEK BEFORE YOUR TEEN’S ARRIVAL.

As a reminder, all daily meds (even vitamins or OTC medications) must be pre-packaged through CampMeds.

Communication About Health Issues

We understand the importance of keeping you informed about health issues affecting your teen. Our medical staff follow the guidelines below and respond to you as quickly as time allows.

• We generally will not contact you if your child is seen by the Beyond Akeela nurse for routine problems, i.e. minor skin abrasions, headache, cold, etc.
• We will contact you if your teen has a fever, rash, requires outside medical attention, tests positive for any type of infection (eg. ear infection, strep), or anything other than minor routine health concerns noted above.
• If the nurse contacts a doctor on your child’s behalf or if your child requires any outside medical attention, we will call you. The phone numbers you provide on your child’s Health/Emergency Form will be used to contact you. Unless your teen has a medical emergency, we will generally not leave a message on a voicemail. Such messages can often be misinterpreted and be unnecessarily alarming.
• We will contact you immediately if your teen has a medical emergency.

Emergency Services

Emergency medical care is available at all times via 9-1-1 services. Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital – Milton is an excellent and well-equipped facility within 10 minutes of campus. Teens can be brought to the emergency room as needed, and we will communicate with you if your teen is being taken to the emergency room for any reason.

Medical Charges

The camp tuition covers all medical services provided by camp staff. All medical bills from providers outside of camp will be processed by the provider through your health insurer. Any applicable payments or copays will be charged to the credit card that you provide to the camp for this purpose.

Other Health Concerns

If your teen has any health concerns we have not previously discussed, please call our team as soon as possible so we can create a plan to keep your teen healthy and safe at camp.
Communicable Disease
If your child has been exposed to any communicable disease within three weeks of camp, please notify the camp immediately. Teens may not attend camp until they have recovered. Our health center staff completes a thorough health screening of each teen before they are allowed to join our camp community. Needless to say, this summer will bring a number of protocols and precautions to prevent the spread of COVID-19. We will be updating this online Family Handbook and sending lots of separate information!
Head Lice
Your teen should be inspected for the presence of head lice three weeks prior to departure and again immediately before camp begins. If your teen had head lice or was exposed to it (family member, friend, schoolmate, etc.) within four weeks of their arrival to camp, please notify us. We will check for the presence of lice while your teen is at camp. If lice is discovered, you will be charged $75 for the treatment.
Orthodonture
If orthodontic problem occurs at camp, we will notify you. With your concurrence (most times home orthodontists want to be consulted as well), we will take your teen to a local orthodontist to resolve the problems and keep your teen comfortable. We are unable to provide ongoing orthodontic care.
Eyeglasses
If your teen wears eyeglasses, we ask that you send an extra pair for our staff to keep safe in case the first pair is lost or broken.
Sunscreen/Insect Repellant Application
Beyond Akeela staff will only apply spray based sunscreen or insect repellants to teens at Beyond Akeela. They will not apply lotion based sunscreens or repellants. Please keep this in mind when packing your teen with sunscreen and bug spray.