Swine flu spoils summer camp for some
Swine flu worries are prompting the closure of some specialty camps nationwide this summer, while other camps in California are imposing tighter health screenings and other precautions.
Both the American Lung Assn. and the Muscular Dystrophy Assn. have had to shut down camps because of swine flu, or H1N1.
“It’s not worth the risk,” said Bob Mackle, a spokesman for the Muscular Dystrophy Assn. “It was a heartbreaking decision for us, and it was a tough decision.”
Children who attend the association’s camps are more susceptible to the flu and have weaker respiratory muscles, so the organization canceled all of its remaining camps nationwide in the third week of June. The closure affects affects about 2,600 at 47 camps. About 300 children were expected to attend four camps in California, Mackle said.
The American Lung Assn. canceled Camp Wheez, a Santa Barbara day camp scheduled for Aug. 10-14, after 27 flu breakouts at other asthma camps in Northern and Southern California. Four children had tested positive for H1N1, said Debra Kelley, senior director of advocacy for the association.
About 25 children were scheduled to attend the camp, she said. “It’s a tough decision because most of these kids can’t go to another camp,” she said. “But their safety comes first.”
Nationally, camps have had to implement extra health policies and procedures to combat H1N1, said Peg Smith, chief executive of the American Camp Assn.
Camp Ramah in the Ojai Valley canceled its annual visitors day this summer after 71 campers and staff members were sent home with flu-like symptoms in June, said Rabbi Daniel Greyber, executive director of the camp. Twenty-nine of those cases were confirmed to be the flu, which typically doesn’t linger in the summer months, Greyber said.
Instead of the visitors day, which attracts 1,800 to 2,000 people, the camp brought a petting zoo to the grounds complete with a zebra. Camp Ramah operates two, four-week summer sessions.
Extra precautions have been taken to guard against H1N1, which wasn’t confirmed in any campers. Most of the 71 campers and staffers are now back on the premises, Greyber said.
Camp Alonim in Simi Valley had 10 campers who tested positive for the flu in June. Each camper was sent home, and the camp has since turned an old dining hall into a health center for those who are feeling run down, said Jordanna Flores, executive director of the camp.
Since the start of the summer, the camp has instituted temperature checks for all campers on opening day. For children who are exhibiting flu-like symptoms, nasal swabs are used to test for the virus.
“We feel we’re taking more precautions than simply taking temperatures,” she said.
Though campers are encouraged to be vigilant about cleanliness in their cabins, the camp isn’t letting swine flu dominate the campers’ overall experience.
“This is supposed to be a place to escape the real world and have fun,” Flores said.
Madeline Hall, director of the Los Angeles County Education Foundation, which operates a weeklong science summer camp in the San Bernardino Mountains, said the group has instituted a health check for campers and is very aware of the importance of procedures such as hand sanitizing. So far, staffers haven’t seen any campers come down with the flu.
“It’s sort of a ‘healthy campers are happy campers’ philosophy,” she said.
-- Nicole Santa Cruz
