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From the CampGroup Chronicles - Spring 2003
Spring 2003
CampGroup Chronicles
Camps To Purchase Defibrillators
Life Saving Devices Will Be Easily Accessible
By Mark Toporoff
Director, Camp Danbee
This summer, all CampGroup camps will be equipped with automated external defibrillators ("AEDs".) AEDs are devices about the size of a standard laptop computer. They are used to help save victims of cardiac arrest, a condition in which the heart stops abruptly. The AED automatically analyzes the heart rhythm of the victim and prompts the operator to provide the appropriate charge to bring the heart into an effective rhythm. Federal regulations now require that AEDs be kept on airlines and in federal buildings.
There presently are no laws requiring camps to have AEDs, and the American Camping Association standards do not require them. Although not mandated, CampGroup has chosen to purchase AEDs for each of our camps. An AED will be placed in a central location at each camp, so that it can be quickly accessed and taken to the scene of the incident. Several staff members will be trained to operate the defibrillator.
CampGroup's decision to purchase defibrillators was easy. Although cardiac arrest is uncommon among children ages 8-18, we believe that even if the possibility is remote, we should be prepared. Moreover, many parents and grandparents visit camp, as do prospective camp parents, thereby increasing the risk.
Stories abound of people young and old whose lives have been spared through the presence of an AED. While we hope and pray that we never need to use one, should the need ever arise, the benefits of saving just one life will dwarf any time or expense associated with this decision.
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Spring 2003
CampGroup Chronicles
Camps Adopt Safety Standards
By Jancy Dorfman
Director, Camp Walt Whitman
To achieve the level of excellence we seek at our camps, we want to exceed the standards required by the American Camping Association in many areas.
In the past, CampGroup camps have demonstrated their commitment to safety by complying with the accreditation standards of the American Camping Association (ACA). ACA representatives visit and accredit member camps once every three years. All CampGroup camps are ACA accredited. Although each of our camps is unique, all of our directors feel strongly that to achieve the level of excellence we seek at our CampGroup camps, all of our camps should go beyond even the ACA standards. We want to exceed those standards in many areas, particularly safety. Thus, CampGroup established a committee to review and evaluate the ACA standards and consider where to raise the bar. The committee developed CampGroup's safety standards.
The standards address nine separate areas: alcohol policy, sexual harassment, the creation of a physically and emotionally safe environment, driver training, trip safety, aquatics and camper supervision. Many of the specific practices identified go beyond ACA requirements .For example, the ACA requires that there be one adult in every waterski boat; we will have one adult driver and one adult spotter. Development of our new practices is not an end, but a beginning. CampGroup's mission is to constantly review and improve ongoing practices to assure our children and parents that our camps are the safest and best run in camping. We continue to pride ourselves in creating an environment which assures the safety and emotional well-being of every camper.
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