Medication Details & FAQ

The best place to start is by reading our Medication Policy.

The most important thing you can do is start this process early! Go to Whitley Drugs and fill out your child’s intake form, or find a local pharmacy that will blister pack your daughter’s medications as required.

Our local pharmacy Whitley Drugs will package all of your daughter’s medications in blister packs. If you’d like to use Whitley’s, read details on how to send in your medications from our Medication Policy information.

We have also compiled a list of pharmacies that will blister pack medications as required. You can also find this information with your Pharmacy Form (available in the spring) in the Campanion app or through your Online Greystone Account. Make sure you follow details about using your local pharmacy.

Keep in mind that the pharmacy label must have all required pharmacy information and match the details given on the camper’s signed Physical Form.

We promise we are not trying to make this difficult on our parents!

1. The state health regulations and laws regarding safe medication administration are very strict.
2. For our nurses to administer the large number of medications in the summer legally, safely, and as efficiently as possible, we have to follow a very strict policy for receiving and administering medications.
3. Our nurses are not allowed to administer ANY daily medications that have not been prescribed by a medical professional and filled by a pharmacist. This includes ALL over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and supplements. If these are necessary for your camper to take daily or on a regular basis, they must be prescribed by your physician and filled by a licensed pharmacist according to the specific guidelines in our Medication Policy.

Please reach out to our Medication Director, Margaret Ann Speakman, if there are any changes in your daughter’s health information and/or medications after submitting her Forms.

If using Whitley Drugs to fill your daughter’s prescriptions, communicate any changes or updates with them as soon as possible: 828-692-4236.

Our nurses will return any unused medications to your daughter’s luggage prior to your arrival and pick up on Closing Day. The only exception would be refrigerated medications, injections, etc. You will need to pick those up from the Health Hut on Closing Day.

We review health histories, medications, and physical forms months ahead of time in order for our Health Staff to fully prepare for our campers’ health needs. This preparation allows us to anticipate how to best staff and stock our Health Hut as well as communicate with parents, pharmacists, nurses, and physicians to provide the best possible care for our campers while they are with us.

If you are using Whitley Drugs to fill your daughter’s prescriptions, they need ample time to gather your information and coordinate with your insurance company and your daughter’s provider to ensure all medications are packaged safely and correctly. Late fees will be applied to the cost of filling and packaging any medications if they have not received the necessary information by May 1, regardless of the session your daughter is attending. PLAN AHEAD to avoid extra fees and any unnecessary frustration.

1. Reliable and knowledgeable about camp: Whitley Drugs is a privately owned, friendly, and reliable pharmacy in Hendersonville that has spent years working tirelessly to safely dispense and package medications for camps in our area.
2. Medications checked in and ready before your daughter arrives: If you use Whitley’s, your daughter’s medications will be blister packed and delivered to camp ready to be administered by our nurses prior to Opening Day. Our nurses will have the chance to check these in and reach out to you if they have any questions before you arrive.
3. Quicker drop off on Opening Day: Once you have completed all your necessary Health Forms, and Whitley’s confirms they have received everything they need to process and package your daughter’s medications, you will NOT need to stop by our Nurses Station before leaving camp on Opening Day. Once your luggage has been unloaded and you have hugged your daughter good-bye, you will be free to drop off letters and pull out of the gate.
4. Easier process during the summer: We also use Whitley Drugs for any new medications needed during the summer. Once you complete the online registration before camp, Whitley’s will be able to easily fill any other medications your daughter may need during her time with us.

• Because Whitley’s coordinates with your insurance company and your daughter’s provider to ensure all medications are packaged safely and correctly, their charge for this packaging service is $25 per camper (not per medication) if filling only over-the-counter medications and $50 per camper if filling any prescription medications.
• If you have not registered online or your forms are not completed by May 1, the packaging charge will include a late fee. Make sure to read Whitley’s instructions so you have everything complete before May 1!
• If a camper arrives on Opening Day with medications out of compliance with our medication policy, there will be an additional late fee. PLAN AHEAD to avoid incurring this extra fee and the stress this causes for you, Camp, and the Whitley’s staff.
• More detailed information is provided on Whitley’s website. Once on their website, click on the “Camp Greystone” tab to access the online registration form.

• The easiest thing is to have your doctor send the prescription electronically to Whitley Drugs in Hendersonville, NC. Alternatively, your doctor may call, fax or mail prescriptions. Whitley’s phone number is 828-692-4236. Find all of these instructions on filling medications with Whitley’s on our printable directions.
• Campers across the country do this every year, so chances are, this isn’t the first time your doctor has heard of sending a prescription to another pharmacy to be packaged.
• Early and frequent communication with your doctor’s office also helps. Don’t leave this part for the last minute. If they have questions, have them call Whitley’s (828-692-4236) who will be happy to explain what they need and why they need it!

You will be notified by someone on Whitley’s staff if your insurance will not cover a medication through them or if they are not able to get your medication. We suggest you then check with your local pharmacy or other pharmacies in your area to see if they will package according to our requirements.

If you are unable to find a pharmacy that can package your daughter’s medication and/or be covered by your insurance, please contact our Medication Director, , before May 1 to discuss a plan.

We have compiled a list of pharmacies that should be able to blister pack according to our requirements. This pharmacy list is not exhaustive. If you find others, please share that information with us so we can help other parents in your area.

If you are having trouble finding a pharmacy, please reach out to our Medication Director, .

You can print our detailed instructions (outlined below) for filling your medications with a local pharmacy or find this information through your Pharmacy Form (available in the spring) in the Campanion app or through your Online Greystone Account.

Here is a sample photo of what the blister packs will look like for your daughter’s medications.

If the daily medication is a liquid, nasal spray, inhaler, or manufacturer blistered chewable, please have the pharmacist attach the medication to the pharmacy labeled 31-day blister pack with the required information described above. Our nurses use the blister pack as our system of administering medication even if the medication is not in the actual bubbles.

1. These are the ONLY medications that may be brought to camp in their original packaging without first getting approval from our Medication Director.
2. Make sure they have been listed on the Health History Form AND page 2 of your daughter’s Physical Form (available in the spring) in the Campanion app or through your Online Greystone Account.
3. Bring them in their original packaging with a pharmacy label and placed in a Ziploc bag. You will drop this bag off with the nurses on Opening Day.
4. Please include enough medication for the entire session. If your insurance doesn’t allow for this, please let us know when we may expect more to be mailed to Camp. (Make sure to include “Attention Health Hut” on the outside of the package when the medication is mailed.)

Our local pharmacy, Whitley Drugs, fills ADHD and other controlled medications for campers every summer. As long as your child’s physician is comfortable sending that prescription to Whitley’s, they will work to fill it.

Whitley’s prefers to fill the prescription for only the amount of time that the camper is at camp. For example, if your child is at camp for 15 days, and the prescription is sent for 30 days, they will fill 15 days worth of the prescription. This is done to minimize any interruption in therapy when you get home.

Regardless of which pharmacy you use, if you have recently filled your child’s medication, your insurance may not pay for the medicine. In this case, Whitley’s or your local pharmacy may need to work with you to see if a vacation override is a possibility with your insurance plan. If you have concerns about this, please contact the pharmacist at Whitley Drugs (828-692-4236).

Please do not send your daughter’s EpiPen or rescue inhaler to camp unless she needs to keep it with her at all times. We have these emergency medications available and strategically placed throughout camp. We also have these available for any off-site trips (i.e., Hiking, Thunderhead Riding, Tubing, and Rafting). Our staff are made aware of any camper allergies/asthma and are trained to recognize any symptoms of distress.

If your daughter DOES need to carry an emergency medication with her, make sure you have entered this on her online Health Form. Also, make sure your physician has included it on the Medication page of her Physical Form (available in the spring) in the Campanion app or through your Online Greystone Account

You will also need to:

1. Check the expiration dates on these medications. We cannot accept or administer an expired medication.
2. Make sure the pharmacy label is affixed to the medication or box.
3. Include an Action Plan (i.e. Asthma Action Plan, Allergy Action Plan) with her Physical Form when you upload or fax it back to camp (available in the spring) in the Campanion app or through your Online Greystone Account.

Please reach out to our Medication Director Margaret Ann Speakman prior to May 1 to discuss these. Keep in mind that you will be required to submit specific Physician Instructions/Orders that include injection schedules in order for the injections to be administered.

Please list these medications in your daughter’s online forms and reach out to our Medication Director Margaret Ann prior to May 1 to discuss their administration.

If your daughter uses a daily inhaler or daily nasal spray, please have these packaged by Whitley Drugs or your local pharmacy as described in our Medication Policy. Our nurses use the blister pack as our system of administering all daily medication even if the medication is not in the actual bubbles.

If you do not anticipate that your daughter will need to use these medications while at camp, please do not send them. If she gets to camp and feels she needs to begin taking them daily, she may see our camp doctor who will prescribe these to be given daily, if needed. In this case, Whitley Drugs will package these medications to comply with our packaging requirements.

Please do NOT send over-the-counter medications to camp unless your daughter needs to take them daily AND you have followed the same instructions in our Medication Policy. These medications would also need to be added to her Health History Form, listed by her physician on the Physical Form, and packaged according to the Medication Policy like any other medication (forms available in the spring in the Campanion app or through your Online Greystone Account). DO NOT SEND these with your camper unless all requirements are fulfilled.

While the medication is over-the-counter and you can give it to your child at home without a prescription, at camp, anything that a camper receives must be accompanied by a physican’s order. In addition, per state laws, pharmacists cannot label/fill anything without a prescription from a physician (that would be considered practicing medicine without a license).

Our Heath Hut is well stocked with medications such as Tylenol, Ibuprofen, Zyrtec, Tums, decongestants, and Miralax. These can be administered to your daughter any time she needs them at no charge to you. Please let your daughter know that she can come to the Health Hut and ask a nurse for these at any time. If your daughter or our Health Staff feel she should be taking them daily, you will receive a call, and a plan will be made for having these prescribed and packaged for your daughter for daily dispensing.

Please do not send these to camp unless absolutely necessary. We cannot administer vitamins, essential oils, supplements, allergy drops, or melatonin unless they are prescribed by your physician and packaged according to our policy. These would also need to be added to her online Health History, listed by her physician on the Physical Form, and packaged according to the Medication Policy like any other medication (forms available in the spring in the Campanion app or through your Online Greystone Account). DO NOT SEND these with your camper unless all requirements are fulfilled.

While these are over-the-counter medications, and you can give it to your child at home without a prescription, at camp, anything that a camper receives must be accompanied by an order. In addition, per state pharmacy laws, a pharmacist cannot label/fill anything without a prescription from a physician.

We can no longer give melatonin to campers on an as needed basis. Remember that campers stay very active at camp, and most of them are very tired at night!

If you feel it is necessary for your daughter to have melatonin while she is here, you will need to follow the same instructions as described for all medications in our Medication Policy:

1. List the melatonin on her online forms: Health History and Medication Verification (available in the spring) in the Campanion app or through your Online Greystone Account.
2. Make sure melatonin is listed on page 2 of the Physical Form - with details for administering and a signature from your physician.
3. Have your physician send a prescription for melatonin to a pharmacy for filling and packaging.
4. Have Whitley’s or the pharmacy you choose package the melatonin as described in our Medication Policy for all medications.

Make sure this is listed on her Health Form as well as on page 2 of her Physical Form (available in the spring) in the Campanion app or through your Online Greystone Account.

Also, please reach out to our Medication Director, to discuss a plan.