Your In-Depth Guide to Medication at Overnight Youth Camp

Safety at Pine Cove is a big deal. Especially medical safety. We put a lot of time and energy into training our camp staff and medical staff to provide the highest level of care possible when it comes to storing, giving out, and overseeing medication. Meds, understandably, bring with them a number of questions. We’ve put together this guide to help you know what’s what when it comes to camper meds.

If you have additional questions or concerns about your camper’s medical care, email us at nursemanager@pinecove.com.

How do I tell you about my camper’s medical needs?

The most important place to communicate about your camper’s medical needs is the camper’s medical form. These forms become available to fill out a month before your camper’s camp session. You can access this form in your account.

If this is your first summer, you also filled out a short medical concerns form as part of your registration flow. This was for bigger picture concerns, like diabetes, and informed our medical staff at that time of your camper’s specific needs.

Where can my camper keep their meds?

To protect the safety of all campers from having access to meds, all medications must be kept at the health centers. This applies not just to campers, but also to our staff, so there’s no possibility of a camper getting into a staffer’s luggage and accessing medication.

Exceptions are made for rescue inhalers, diabetic supplies, and epi-pens. Just be sure to mention your camper will need to carry these things with them on the medical form.

What meds should my camper bring?

Please leave all non-prescription medications other than allergy medicine at home for the week. We’re well stocked with everything else they might need! See a full list of the medication we keep on hand at the bottom of this guide. Continue to pack your over-the-counter allergy medications (so much pollen at camp!) and turn those into the nurse. These include Flonase, Zyrtec, Claritin, Allegra, and more. Save the hassle of packing the rest (and the space in your trunk)!

We do not administer any meds via smoking or vaping. If that’s a concern, contact nursemanager@pinecove.com and we’ll help you figure it out.

When are meds given out?

Medication is given out at meals from Monday breakfast to Friday dinner and bedtimes beginning Sunday night. Note that we do not give out meds at dinner on Sunday, so make sure to give your camper their dinner meds early when you drop them off at camp. At Saturday breakfast we only give out prescription meds, so if your camper takes an over-the-counter medication daily at breakfast you can give it to them when you pick up meds at closing ceremony.

How should I pack my camper’s meds?

Make sure you keep all prescription medication in its original container. It’s easy to get carried away when you are packing and put loose pills in a baggie or meds into pill sorters but resist the temptation! State regulations require all medication to be in their original containers so we cannot make exceptions.

Anything else important about meds?

Speaking of state regulations, we also cannot administer prescription meds that are:

• Expired. All medication must be currently valid.
• Prescribed to other people. Medication must be prescribed to the camper only and not other family members. If dispensing instructions have changed, please ensure the label is updated by the pharmacy.
• Compounded or mixed at home. We can administer medicines that have been compounded or mixed by a pharmacy, but we cannot administer medicines that have been mixed or compounded together at home. Our nurses at camp are also unable to mix or compound medicines together. If you need this, work with your pharmacy ahead of time to bring a pharmacy mixed medicine with you.
• Broken in half. We cannot administer medicines that are cut or broken into smaller doses than prescribed.

Regulations require us to follow the directions on all medicines unless we have a note from a physician authorizing something different. So if a bottle says it is for adult use only and it is checked in for a ten-year-old, we cannot administer it. This is often a problem for Melatonin. Or if you request a higher dosage than what is listed on the medication directions, you’ll need a doctor’s note for that.

What about essential oils?

Due to the already large amount of medicines tracked and given out during the week, we do not administer essential oils to campers. Please do not send them in your camper’s luggage.

What about CBD oil?

Similar to essential oils, we do not administer CBD oil to campers, and we ask that you do not pack it in your camper’s luggage.

What about melatonin?

You can send it, but two important things to note. Your camper will be going hard all. day. long. So the likelihood of them needing something to help them fall asleep is low. In addition, by law we must follow the directions on all medicines. It’s common for melatonin bottles to say they are for adult use only, which means we cannot administer it to a camper.

How do I get my meds back?

On Saturday you can pick up your meds from the meds pick up table before or after closing ceremony. Please don’t forget! Bring your photo ID so we can verify we are giving the meds back to the right person.

Full list of medications Pine Cove keeps on hand

Allergy / Antihistamines / Sinus / Cold and Cough

• Afrin
• Benadryl (liquid, tablets, topical)
• Chloraseptic Throat Spray
• Claritin (liquid, children’s, and tablets)
• Cough Drops
• Pepcid (H2 blocker)
• Phenylephrine Tabs
• Robitussin / Robitussin DM
• Saline Nasal Spray
• Sore Throat Lozenges

Eye Drops

• Allergy Eye Drops
• Artificial Tears
• Eye Wash

Ear Drops

• Swimmer’s Ear Drops
• Cerumen or Ear Wax Build Up Drops

Pain Reliever / Fever Reducer / Analgesics

• Ibuprofen (liquid, jr chewable tablets, 200 mg tabs)
• Tylenol (liquid, jr. chewable tablets, 325mg and extra-strength 500mg tabs)

Stomach Relief

• Anti-Nausea Liquid
• Bonine (Meclizine)
• Colace (stool softener)
• Dramamine
• Dulcolax
• Immodium (liquid and tablets)
• Maalox
• Milk of Magnesia
• Miralax
• Mylanta
• Pepcid
• Pepto (children’s and adult tablets)
• Tums
• Zantac

Topical

• Aloe Gel
• Anti-Fungal Cream and Spray
• Benadryl Anti-Itch
• Burn Gel
• Caladryl
• Hydrocortisone
• Medicaine Sting Swabs
• Neosporin
• Oragel
• Petroleum jelly
• Solarcaine
• Vaseline