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My name is Thomas Lynch and I am the health coordinator R.N.
this summer at Swift Nature Camp. I have been an RN for 15+
years, trained in Chicago. I have had experience in medical/
surgical, emergency, and pediatric care. My wife and I .......
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in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan with our son, Colin who is
under way on the USS Jimmy Carter, and our daughter, Frankie,
who will spend her summer as a counselor in training at Swift
Nature Camp. I'm sending out this letter to let you know I
have dedicated myself to keeping our campers healthy and
safe while having a fun, rewarding experience of their childhood.
A camper's enjoyment at camp can be increased with preparation, and this is the intent and focus of my letter.
First and foremost I wish to encourage children to come to me when they have a pain, scrape or just not feeling well. It’s best to take care of these situations quickly so campers can get back with their group and go have fun. Although injuries at camps are 25% less than organized sports, unfortunately, illness at camp is consistent with general population.
The same practices that increase health at home increase health at camp. We ask you to go over these with your children before they leave and we will be reinforcing them with their stay at camp:
1. Avoid fatigue. Take naps, sleep at night.
2. Hydrate. Drinks lots of water.
3. Nutrition. Eat, eat, eat.
4. Wash hands frequently and use hand sanitizer when available.
5. Sneeze and cough into elbows or sleeve.
During Orientation Day I will do a brief health screening to ensure that all campers are healthy and isolate any potentially communal diseases. This is just smart for everyone.
Absence of family, group living, and inability for campers to have mental privacy can also be factors that lead to a child's increased stress. Discuss how your child may deal with loneliness, tolerating annoyances, and inability to just chill and be left alone. One of the best things campers find to do is talk with their counselor- after all they are like a big brother or sister that want to help. From there they can work on issues together and come up with workable plans. If that does not work please have your children come see me or Jeff & Lonnie.
I love to meditate and do yoga and I plan on offering classes to help campers learn life long skills that can reduce stress. So be sure to encourage your child to join one of these classes if they are having a difficult time with stress or anger.
Counselors will encourage children to try new things but never push children to do things that they may feel uncomfortable with. So it’s important that if your child feels unsafe in an activity they talk with the leader and express their concerns so we can address these and help your child take safe new risks.
Finally, I realize that the health form is a pain and not much fun to complete. However, every piece of information you put on this form only helps us better care for your child's physical and mental health. We need helpful hints in every aspect of your child, how they deal with others, how to encourage, how they eat, severe allergies, sleeping habits, how they deal with anger, how they relax, any and all information is confidential and can only help your child have a better time at camp.
My goal is to help each camper have a safe, happy camp experience. I will be moving to camp in early June and you can call me at 715-466-5666 to further discuss your child’s needs.
Thank you,
Thomas Lynch, RN.
Big Uncle
