One day about 10 years ago, my husband and I were visiting the area from Florida. While driving around Brevard looking at sights, we came to a place that looked and felt so familiar to me. I asked him to make a left turn, and we found ourselves driving up the road to Keystone Camp. I was so excited because I had so many great memories of camp as a child. As we pulled up and crossed the bridge, we saw Page in the bushes, pulling weeds of course. I got out of the car to say hello and, although she had not seen me in 20+ years, she immediately knew who I was (Page has a gift for recognizing faces and remembering names). Page and I talked for a few minutes, I introduced her to my family, and little did I know that the encounter that day would bring me back to Keystone Camp again. Page gave my daughter, Charlton, a promotional DVD about Keystone and it played on repeat in our car. She was hooked.
I attended Keystone in the late 80’s and although I only came to camp for three summers, it has always held a special place in my heart. I always tell people that the two best summers of my childhood were the summer I spent seven weeks at Keystone and the other was a semester in Kenya with the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS). After our visit to Keystone, I knew I wanted my daughter to attend and I wanted to come back too, but wasn’t sure how to do that as an adult. It took about two years after seeing Page that day to make my daughter and I’s dreams come true. My family and I ended up moving from Florida to Hendersonville, North Carolina and camp was always in the back of our minds. Since Charlton was becoming camp age, I inquired if they needed any nurses for the summer of 2016 (maybe that would bring me back!) and to my surprise, they did. I immediately applied, interviewed, accepted working two sessions (June and August) and enrolled my daughter. I had no idea that camp nursing would become my favorite nursing job after working in the ER, cardiology, and informatics. Now, nine years later I am still here and can’t wait for summer to start.
My job at Keystone has evolved over the years. I started out as a session nurse, arriving the day before my session started and leaving on closing day. I would work 24/7 for 13 days straight. It was fun, challenging, and exhausting. I was ready to go home, but always longing to come back. Each year I would take on a few more responsibilities at camp since I live close to it. This eventually led to me accepting a position as Nursing Director five years ago. Now I work with camp as part of the year round staff, but not full-time like Jazz, Izzy, Catherine, Stacey, and Jessica. You may be wondering why a summer camp needs a nursing director and what she does all year? I would love to tell you!
Camp has a rhythm to it, with nine months of planning for nine weeks of fun. Once a camp season ends and I’ve had some time to recuperate, I immediately begin working on the next summer. The first part of the fall is focused on hiring nurses. Yes, we hire nurses as soon as enrollment opens. We are so fortunate to have many nurses, with excellent nursing skills and knowledge, return year after year. As their children begin to age out of camp, they usually say good-bye, leaving us with only a few positions to fill. Most of our nurses have been at Keystone Camp for five years or more! We have a tremendous nursing staff and I couldn’t do my job without each and every one of them. Hiring nurses can take time; It is hard for full-time nurses to get two weeks off to come work at camp. And, while it is a break from their “real” job, it is not a vacation. The fall is also the time of year when I review how our summer went from a health care standpoint, see where we can make improvements, follow up with families, take inventory, make lists of things to do for the next summer, and do a final clean of the Inn (what our infirmary is called).
During the fall and throughout the year, I attend weekly meetings every Thursday with Keystone’s leadership team. We each give updates on what we are working on, where we are with hiring, what we need to accomplish, and what we might be struggling with at the time. This is a great meeting with everyone where we all catch up and discuss so many things. I get a chance to hear new things coming to camp, changes that are being made, and even get to share my opinion as a camp mom and nurse.
Winter at camp, especially after New Year’s, is when things begin to get real. In January, I begin planning for opening days. The first step is reaching out to our local community college to hire nursing students to help with health screenings and other opening day tasks. Each year is a new team of people. I love sharing with students what camp nursing is all about, because it is a hidden gem in the world of nursing. This summer will be our second summer as a clinical site for nursing students. Winter is also the time for camp conferences. I usually attend the annual gathering of the Alliance for Camp Health, as I will this year, but from home as it is a virtual conference this time. I also begin reviewing our policies and procedures and making updates as needed.
Spring is when we hit the ground running. It’s time for supplies! I always aim by spring to have all of my positions filled, and I start preparing the Inn. I have to inventory all of our supplies and make lists of what is needed. It would be great if everything came from one place, but alas, I have to shop at many different places to fill our health center. The task I dread the most in the spring is inventory of our first aid kits. I have to break them all apart, count everything, check every expiration date, refill what’s needed, and make it all fit back in the kit. This takes hours, but it is well worth it. Spring also brings the submission of forms by campers. I start reviewing health forms as soon as they begin arriving and if needed, I call or email parents if I have questions or concerns.
April and May are extremely busy! You can feel the change in the air as our first Mother Daughter Weekend (MDW) approaches and camp begins to look like camp again. I like to have everything in place by the first MDW and have the Inn ready for business. I usually do, but there are always a few things that might be delayed or change at the last minute. I like to have everything set and ready to go, so when our first June nurses arrive, they can walk in, unpack, see that everything they need is there, and feel like they’ve arrived at their summer home. Once our first summer staff arrive in preparation for MDW, I am usually on call for them for any illness or injury. As you can see, my trips to camp are more frequent come April and May!
It is always exciting when June and our first opening day arrives! We’ve spent the past nine months preparing for this day. Once campers arrive, it feels like we are home. Our family has returned and so has our daily rhythm.
Opening days for the nurses are LONG! We see every camper, and spend almost all day organizing all of the camper medications for our first medication pass that night. It is slow and takes time; We partner with a local pharmacy school to help with this task.
The daily life of a camp nurse is long and it starts on day one. There is a lot of “I” in what I’ve shared up to this point, but we could not do camp without our incredible nursing staff: Corin, Cherie, Emily, Michelle, Jill, Jen, Heather, Kathy, Lesley, and welcoming this summer two Kristen M’s. Once camp starts, they are the ones here on site for the campers and staff 24/7. I’m at camp a lot of the time, and while some might think I am a full-time employee by summer, it’s the session nurses who are the true rock stars!
Our job truly is 24/7! We begin administering morning medications at 7:50 a.m. and bedtime medications around 8:30 p.m., but our evening does not end there. After seeing our last campers for the night and completing all of our documentation, we usually head to bed around 11 p.m. in hopes of getting a full night’s sleep. One nurse takes the “on-call” every night. In between medications there is no telling what a camp nurse might be doing. From bumps and scrapes to broken bones, fevers, and ER visits, we see it all. And sometimes, you might just find us swimming in the lake in between it all.
So, to circle back, there are many reasons to have a nursing director, and they don’t all fit here. The last thing I want to share with you is why I truly love this job and call it my favorite. Just like the campers, our nurses look forward to coming back to camp to see their nurse friends. We live together during the summer and enjoy our camp time too. But, the best part about being a camp nurse is taking care of all of the campers and staff. We have the opportunity to see these girls grow and mature from a Key Camper to becoming a counselor. I get just as excited about seeing my campers year after year and can’t wait for them to drive across the bridge that brought me back.
