HOME › Forums › Camp Health › Handling program participants exposed to communicable disease
Tagged: communicable disease, COVID-19
- This topic has 3 replies, 4 voices, and was last updated 1 year, 7 months ago by
Tracey Gaslin.
-
AuthorPosts
-
June 21, 2023 at 10:12 am #50066
Madeleine Carson
ParticipantGreetings, all! We are a small, one-week overnight camp with limited isolation capabilities (we have room for 1 program participant to be in total isolation). We are seeking advice on how similarly situated camps are handling program participants who have been exposed to someone who tests positive for a communicable disease. What definitions of exposure are you using? what NPIs are you putting in place with the exposed group? Who counts as being exposed? How long are you using these NPIs for?
Please note: I know what the CDC says about isolation & exposure, I’m just wondering if/how this can be modified to fit the needs of a week-long overnight camp without dramatically impacting the program participant’s experience.
Any help is greatly appreciated!
July 7, 2023 at 2:21 pm #50613Shelly Nalbone
ParticipantHello,
We are in a similar situation. We have 1 isolation room on site for campers and volunteers. We do have a location that we can send staff who need to quarantine. If someone comes in with fever or tests positive for COVID, we call parents and ask them to come pick up the camper or volunteer. If they cannot make it safely here and back home in a reasonable time, we can keep them until morning.
As for exposure, if the exposed person is not symptomatic, we do not isolate.July 12, 2023 at 8:18 am #50712Anonymous
InactiveLast year we attempted to identify and separate the exposures, which was so very challenging in the camp environment. This year, our policy says we will not isolate exposures nor test them. We are approaching it differently this year and it has been working incredibly. We test when the symptoms warrant and they would go home if positive as Shelly said. Otherwise, the remainder of the cabin is not tested. We switched to communicable disease instead of covid centric so we are having a ton more strep this year, not covid. We keep these in isolation x24hrs for the antibiotics to work and to be fever-free. For staff if possible we send them home for quarantine or have some additional housing on site they can stay at. It’s not pretty but it provides housing for them while they recover. Good luck!
July 12, 2023 at 5:02 pm #50726Tracey Gaslin
MemberMadeleine:
Great questions. I am still getting numerous calls about COVID spread in camps. It is still real. The CDC is not giving much guidance except they still outline isolation guidelines. The key is to follow your communicable disease plan – for all transmissible illnesses. As Candi mentioned, I am hopeful we move from COVID specific focus to a larger communicable disease approach and target an array of transmissible illnesses.
I appreciate all that wonderful camp healthcare providers are doing to create wonderful safe experiences.
Tracey -
AuthorPosts
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.