Health

Personal Camper Information

Often, months pass between the application process and Opening Day of camp. If a situation has occurred that could affect your son’s camp experience, please contact camp via phone (828.692.0262) or email .

Camp Community Health

We have many procedures in place for the health of the camp community. Any operational response adjusted due to widespread illness will be updated in the Parents section of the website for the most up-to-date information.

What is the Role of the Camp Infirmary?

The medical team is here to help campers, even for something that seems small! Remind your son that if he notices anything like this, to be sure to stop by the infirmary during clinic times for the nurses to check it out. Even if it’s just a sore throat or “just a scratch,” we don’t want it to get worse! Clinic times are before the 1st activity period in the morning, and again just after shower time at night. The nurses and doctors at camp are very kind and friendly, and they want to make sure everyone feels healthy while they’re at camp.

Health Forms

In an effort to create a happy and healthy camp community for your son, it is critical that you complete his health forms by the due date. We request that the Health Form be filled out online and the Physician’s Examination Form be downloaded for completion by the physician and faxed back or uploaded back into your son’s account once completed. The fax number is on the form and no cover sheets or copies of immunizations are needed (please submit only the 1-page). Our medical staff review all forms prior to Opening Day. Campers will not be allowed to remain at camp without completed forms. If your son’s physical is scheduled for a time after the due date of the Physician’s Examination Form, that is okay. Submit the form when completed. In this case, complete all other forms by the due date.

Please have the physician complete the camp Physician’s Examination Form as it meets our accreditation standards. School and Sports Physical Forms and forms from other camps do not give us the information we need for camp. We do not need immunization records. The doctor attests to immunization status, on the Physician’s Examination Form.

The barcode on the lower right of each form is unique to each camper. If you have multiple sons attending camp, be mindful that barcodes match the boy for whom the form is completed.

Health Insurance and Authorization Form

If campers are covered by a health insurance policy provided by their parents, insurance information should be provided on our Insurance & Authorization Form in your CampInTouch account. Please note that the form in your camper’s online record is uniquely barcoded for your son. If a family chooses a self-pay option for medical care, complete the Insurance & Authorization form and indicate “self-pay” where insurance information is requested.

Copy the front and back of your insurance card onto the Insurance & Authorization Form. Please do not send a separate attachment. If you have a separate card for prescription coverage, it may be included on the form as well.

The form requires a signature as it authorizes medical treatment for your son in the unlikely event that it may be required. The form may be faxed back to us (number on the form), scanned and emailed to mail@fallingcreek.com, or uploaded directly to your son’s CampInTouch account.

The barcode on the lower right of each form is unique to each camper. If you have multiple sons attending camp, be mindful that barcodes match the boy for whom the form is completed. A separate Insurance and Authorization Form is required for each camper.

Dining Hall & Nutrition

Our camp community is served three well-balanced meals each day and we strive to vary the entrees throughout each session. We offer cereal and a full fruit bar with oatmeal, yogurt, and granola with every breakfast. Our salad bar at lunch and dinner contains a variety of salad toppings, rice or plain pasta, warmed black beans, and soy or sun butter. Apples and/or bananas are available as a snack throughout the day, and most evenings we serve a sugar cookie with milk.

We realize there may be food your son is not as familiar with or made differently than at home, and we hope your son is open to tasting what our cooks have prepared. Our campers are always able to supplement the food served in the Dining Hall with our Fruit and Salad Bars. Cookouts and meals on out-of-camp trips are more limited due to a rotating, set menu. It is Falling Creek’s expectation that by sending your son to camp, you are asserting to us that your child has knowledge of their diet, can manage their food choices, and will be able to find enough foods at each meal to sustain their active lifestyle.

Falling Creek Camp cannot guarantee campers will not come in contact with food to which they may have an allergy or intolerance. Please make sure you read through our Allergen Policy below. If your child has a severe allergy or dietary restriction, contact the camp directors to discuss if Falling Creek is properly equipped to manage it.

Allergen Policy

Because we eat family-style, have cookouts with self-serve buffets, cook communally on trips, and offer fruit and salad bars, campers and staff should be aware of the risk of cross-contamination. While we do our best to mitigate cross-contamination, your son may be exposed to an allergen due to the communal setting of our meals.

For those with a food allergy or sensitivity, we offer dietary substitutions for the main course and dessert, at a minimum. Our substitutes will be as close to the original dish as possible (i.e., as an alternative to spaghetti, we will offer gluten-free noodles and a vegetarian sauce).

When it comes to pre-prepared food either served in our Dining Hall or on out-of-camp trips, we consider a food item to contain an allergen if it is listed in the ingredients or the item’s packaging states language such as it “may contain” the allergen or is “made on shared equipment”. We do not consider a food item to contain an allergen if the precautionary label states “processed in a factory that also processes” the allergen.

Please be aware that we are not a nut-free camp. We limit exposure by not preparing nor serving peanut or tree nut products in the Kitchen, Dining Hall, or on out-of-camp trips. If your son is at risk of a contact reaction, please contact us to ensure we are equipped to take the best care of your son. If your son is allergic to coconut, please enter it in the “Other allergy not listed above?” question on the online Health Form.

Facts About Bugs

Please talk to your son(s) and discuss the importance of recognizing and reporting problematic bug bites, an unusually itchy scalp, and ticks, to the infirmary.

Bug Bites

Annoying bugs like mosquitoes seem to affect some boys more than others. In an effort to minimize this, campers may bring non-aerosol bug repellent to keep in their cabin or carry with their gear. Choosing an EPA-registered repellent with one of the following active ingredients ensures the EPA has evaluated the product for effectiveness: DEET, picaridin, IR3535, oil of lemon eucalyptus, para-menthane-diol, or 2-undecanone. For more protection, permethrin can be used to treat clothing and gear (such as boots, pants, socks, tents) or permethrin-treated clothing and gear can be purchased. Read product information to find out how long the protection will last. Campers may visit the infirmary for treatment of bug bites, especially for open bites that may be prone to infection.

Ticks

Remind your son to check their entire body for ticks at shower time. Ticks may be found anywhere but common places are in and around hair and ears, under the arms, and in between the legs. We will contact you to let you know if a tick has been removed from your son. Camp nurses will follow-up with your son to check for signs of rash or fever.