Medications

We work hard to keep your daughter healthy while she is enjoying camp, and we also want to help campers receive the medications they need while they are with us. Our new medication system will allow us to provide your daughter with the very best care while she is here.

Campers are not allowed to keep ANY medication in their cabins. This includes over-the-counter medications such as Tylenol, as well as any vitamins or supplements. The only exceptions to this would include emergency medications such as inhalers for asthma, Epi-pens for severe allergies, and some prescription dermatological creams.

Medications taken daily will be dispensed by our nurses after breakfast, after lunch, after supper, and at bedtime. If your daughter requires medication at another time in the day, please contact us before camp to discuss her needs.

Dispensing Medications at Camp

In order to fully comply with state regulations and best practices concerning medication distribution at camp, as well as assure that we are providing the best possible care of our campers, our nurses cannot administer ANY daily medication that has not been prescribed by a medical professional and filled by our local pharmacy. This includes OTC meds such as Zyrtec or Miralax, vitamins, and supplements. If these are necessary for your camper to take regularly while she is at camp, they must be prescribed by your physician and filled by our local pharmacy.

ALL medications (including OTC ones) that are to be given daily or on a regular basis will need to be filled by our local pharmacy Whitley Drugs (828-692-4236). Whitley’s will pre-package your daughter’s medicines and deliver these to camp prior to Opening Day. Our camp nurses will then verify the medicines (comparing them to the information you entered on your Health History Form) and prepare them to be administered. We will call you with any questions or discrepancies.

If your daughter needs to take daily medication of any kind, please download the Pharmacy Form, complete it with the required information, and return it directly to Whitley’s. The form can be scanned and returned via email or text (these are the preferred methods) as well as mailed or faxed. This form is also available on their website.

Please plan ahead! Whitley’s needs to receive the Pharmacy Form and prescriptions from your provider at least 30 days before your daughter’s session in order to properly process and package all the medications and deliver them to camp before Opening Day.

Whitley’s will process your insurance for the cost of the medication. They charge a fee for packaging and delivering these medications ($30 for Junior and August Camps; $60 for June and Main Camps) and will bill you directly for this service. If you need to fill a prescription before your daughter’s next refill is available, Whitley’s can work with your insurance company to obtain a “vacation override.”

Over the counter medications

Our Heath Hut is well stocked with OTC medications such as Tylenol, Tums, cough drops, etc. These can be administered by the nurses as needed at no charge to you.

If your daughter will need an OTC medication frequently or on a regular basis, such as Allegra or Zyrtec for allergies, please download the Pharmacy Form and follow the instructions. These will have to be packaged and dispensed by our local pharmacy (Whitley’s) along with other prescription medications.

As needed medications

If your daughter has medication that she only takes as needed and not on a regular basis (i.e. migraine medication or allergy medicine that she takes occasionally as needed), please make sure these are listed on her Health History Form, and send the medication with your camper in a Ziploc bag. These must be in original containers with labels that include instructions. Please fill out this Medication Details Form to include in the bag so the nurses know the instructions for the medicines. We will collect these as she checks in on Opening Day. You will be contacted if we have any questions.

Emergency Medications

If your daughter needs to bring an emergency medication with her such as a rescue inhaler for asthma or an EpiPen for severe allergic reactions, please make sure these have been listed on her Health Form and check the expiration date before sending to camp. These medications must be brought to camp in the original packaging with the prescription label. Your daughter should have these in a Ziploc bag when she gets out of the car on Opening Day. We will talk to her about these medications as she checks in and contact you if we have any questions.

If your camper is going to carry one of these emergency medications with her during the day, we recommend sending two, so we can keep one as a backup at the Health Hut. If she is bringing an emergency medication to camp, but you would like us to keep it at the Health Hut (instead of with her during the day), please let us know.

Vitamins and supplements

Please do not send vitamins and supplements to camp. If these are absolutely necessary, they will need to be prescribed by your healthcare provider and filled by Whitley’s like other prescribed medications. You will need to add these to your daughter’s Health History Form, complete the Pharmacy Form, and have the prescription for these sent to Whitley’s 30 days prior to your daughter’s session.

With the exception of emergency medicines and the as needed medicines described above, we will not be able to collect ANY medications from parents on Opening Day.

To sum up our policies regarding medication:

Medications that must be packaged through Whitley’s (our local pharmacy):

• Prescription medications taken daily or on a regular basis
• Over the counter medications taken daily or on a regular basis, including vitamins and supplements

Medications you can bring to camp in a Ziploc bag in their original containers with labels:

• Emergency medications (Epi-pens, Inhalers)
• Prescription medicine taken only as needed (in original container that includes Dr.’s orders for giving)
• OTC medicine taken only as needed (in original containers with instructions about administration)

Medications you cannot bring to camp and that we cannot accept directly from you:

• DAILY prescription or OTC medicines that have not been filled by Whitley’s
• Vitamins or supplements and other medicines not filled by Whitley’s

Other types of medical treatments:

Please reach out to us prior to the summer if your daughter will need any type of injection (such as allergy shots) or any other medical treatments not mentioned above.

New Prescriptions:

If our camp doctor determines that your daughter needs to be started on prescription medication or take an OTC medication regularly while at camp, you will be notified by a nurse and that medication will be filled at our local pharmacy using our camp-specific blister packs. Your insurance will be billed (or you will be charged) for the cost of the medication, but you will not be charged for packaging or administration.