This post includes information about everything health-related at camp, including:
Covid Testing Plan
Medications
Pre-camp screening questionnaire
Motion sickness
Glasse
Lice
Preventing illness at camp
Treating illness at camp
If you have questions about anything, always feel free to reach out to us! Thank you for your help ensuring a safe and healthy summer!
Covid Testing Plan
Test 1 - Pre-Camp: All campers are required to present a negative PCR Covid test from within 72 hours ahead of the start of the session. Families should organize their own tests. Check out local county sites and pharmacies (Walgreens, CVS, etc.) to book.
Test 2 - First Day of the Session: We will be testing all campers on the first day of the session, using a PCR test with results within a few hours. Tests will be done at each of the bus dropoff locations and then analyzed at the testing lab at the Silverlake JCC (SIJCC). We are grateful to the SIJCC, who we will be partnering with to provide this testing.
We are coordinating this test - all you need to do is stop at one of the locations!
Please do not eat or drink 30 mins ahead of the test! Water is fine up to 10 mins before.
First Session (starting July 7th)
Campers taking the bus from LA will be tested before getting on the bus.
The San Diego bus will pick up campers in San Diego and then stop in Redlands to pick up campers there. All campers on this bus will be tested in Redlands.
Families driving campers to camp should plan to stop at one of these locations for testing:
Gilboa Office 8339 West 3rd St, Los Angeles, CA 90048 - between 8:30-9:15am
Silverlake JCC 1110 Bates Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90029 - between 9:30-10am
Inland Empire: Congregation Emanu El 1495 Ford St, Redlands, CA 92373 - between 11-11:45am
If stopping at these locations is logistically impossible for your family, there is the option to be tested at camp, but we ask that you arrive no later than 1pm in order for us to get the tests to the lab and receive the results in time.
For 2nd Session (starting July 28th)
Campers will all be tested at the Silverlake JCC (9:30-10am) or Congregation Emanu El in Redlands (11-11:30am). Please plan to stop at one of these locations on your way to camp.
If stopping at these locations is logistically impossible for your family, there is the option to be tested at camp, but we ask that you arrive no later than 1pm in order for us to get the tests to the lab and receive the results in time.
Campers will remain masked, distanced and engage in outdoors activities only until these test results have been delivered.
If a camper tests positive in test #1, their arrival to camp will have to be delayed until two consecutive negative tests are presented and Gilboa’s medical staff determines it is safe for them to be at camp. Camp fees will be prorated according to the number of days the camper has been approved to participate.
If a camper tests positive in test #2, the camper will have to be picked up by the parents that same day. They will be permitted to return to camp once two consecutive negative tests are presented and Gilboa’s medical staff determines it is safe for them to be at camp. Camp fees will be prorated according to the number of days the camper has been approved to participate.
Test 3 - Four Days Into the Session: On day 4, a second test will be conducted for all campers at camp. Samples will be analyzed at the SIJCC lab.
Test 4 - Pre-Departure: Campers will all take a 4th Covid test a few days before they head home to reduce the risk of community spread. We recommend families get another test for unvaccinated campers a few days after they get home.
Pre-camp screening questionnaire
In the forms section of your camp account you will find a pre-camp health screening. Please fill it out right before coming up to camp (sometime in the 3 days leading up to camp.)
It will only take a few minutes and gives us important information about Covid exposure, past Covid diagnoses, etc. that will help keep camp safe for your child and the whole community.
Medications
As you prepare to send your child to camp, please be sure to have all medications your child may need, in sufficient quantities for the duration of camp.
All medication - prescription and over the counter - in the original packaging, must be labeled with your child's full name, name of medication, prescribed dosage and time of day, what it is being taken for, and whether it needs refrigeration.
Please send a detailed schedule, including dosage, as well as instructions in case of reaction and other special instructions, if any. If your child carries an inhaler, it is very helpful if you send two, so that we can keep one at the health center, and have one with your child at all times.
All medication must be given to counselors at the bus (where possible) or to the nurse upon arrival at camp.
Camp Gilboa may administer over-the-counter medicine to your child if needed, according to your instructions on the health information form.
Motion Sickness
If your child is prone to car sickness, please make sure to equip them with vomit bags (we'll have them on the bus as well), and with the treatment you know is helpful to them (i.e. dramamine, lemon, ginger, etc.). If they are using dramamine, the best time to give it is right before they get on the bus or on the plane, as the medication will take full effect as the bus starts climbing the windy road up the mountain.
Glasses
If your child wears glasses or contacts, it is important that you send an extra pair to camp. It is difficult to enjoy camp if there is a long delay in replacing broken glasses or lost contacts.
Lice
We ask that you thoroughly check your child's hair a week (that's in a couple days for many of you) and again one day before camp starts, and make sure to treat (and notify us) if you find lice. Lice check is part of the first day procedure at camp, and if we find lice on a camper, we will treat it and do routine follow-up treatments to prevent its spread.
Preventing Illness at Camp
At camp, we stress the importance of hygiene and prevention and make sure campers know to report any illness to their counselor. If your child is ill or getting over an illness and may still be contagious on the first day of the camp session, we ask that you delay their arrival to camp, to make sure they arrive to camp feeling well and to avoid spreading illness.
Illness at Camp
During camp our 24 hr/day mirpa'a (infirmary) is staffed by multiple health professionals. First session we have Lynn Lowe, FNP, and Julianne Abbott, CCMA. Second session we have Misha Askren, MD, Rod Duncan, EMT-P, and Terry Duncan, EMT-P.
If your child isn't feeling well, the medical personnel will determine whether they can be treated at camp or need to see a physician in Big Bear. If your child isn't feeling well, we will let you know!