At Camp Deer Run, camper safety is our utmost priority. We know that the trust parents place in us is never to be taken lightly, and we believe that our duty to protect the children entrusted to our care is sacred. As such, Camp Deer Run takes extensive measures to ensure that all of our campers can have fun, make friends, and experience God in a safe and secure Christian environment.
STAFF
As your session approaches please help us to promote a healthy environment at camp by:
- Practicing physical distancing for 14 days before your session. Avoid large group gatherings, put physical distance between yourself and people outside your home. Wear a mask if distancing is not possible.
- Practicing good hand hygiene at home as a family, washing or sanitizing your hands often
- Login to your camper account and sign the COVID-19 waiver and pre-screening form during the week before your session. These forms must be completed no later than the Friday prior to your arrival.
- Do not come to camp if you are sick.
- Do not come to camp if you have been in close contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 within 14 days of your camp session.
In order to help promote a healthy environment and to start off well, all Summer Staff have committed to practice physical distancing for 14 days before their arrival to camp. Upon arriving at camp all staff will be screened and will continue to be screened daily at camp for any new or worsening symptoms such as cough, fever, shortness of breath, chills, sore throat, etc. Summer Staff will spend two weeks in training before the start of summer sessions. During this time, they will be separated into small groups and practiced physical distancing from other staff.
Summer Staff will receive enhanced training on:
- How to clean and disinfect cabins, bathhouses, and other high traffic areas of camp.
- How to practice and teach campers the importance of the following behaviors in a fun but informative way:
- Proper handwashing practices
- Covering mouth and nose when sneezing or coughing
- Not sharing bathroom products
- Not eating or drinking after anyone
- Physical distancing from campers in other groups
- How to recognize signs and symptoms of communicable disease and how to appropriately respond
- How to follow and supervise the plan for practicing physical distancing between camper groups and for modifying camp activities to minimize shared materials
Throughout the summer, Summer Staff will be restricted from traveling into surrounding communities except for trips to stores for essential goods. Summer Staff will wear a mask when entering any business during their limited time off the property.
On the first day of every session, campers will learn and review the importance of the following practices in a fun but informational way:
- Proper handwashing practices
- Covering mouth and nose when sneezing or coughing
- Not sharing bathroom products
- Not eating or drinking after anyone
- Physical distancing from campers in other groups
We will post signage in highly visible locations that reinforce these important practices.
We will promote a protected environment by requiring that any camper showing serious symptoms, as determined by an on-site health professional, be picked up by their parents or other authorized individuals. Until then, campers with such symptoms will sensitively and kindly be kept in isolation. Campers may only return to their session after they have been definitively diagnosed as negative for COVID-19 by a physician.
All campers and staff will be screened daily by our Camp Nurses for any new or worsening symptoms of COVID-19, including having their temperature taken. This will take place each morning before Breakfast as the campers arrive and line up outside the mess hall.
One of the most important precautions in preventing disease of any kind is proper hand hygiene. For this reason, hand sanitizer gel will be placed at the entrance and exit to every cabin and building at Camp Deer Run and campers will be encouraged to ‘Gel In, Gel Out,’ meaning to use hand sanitizer every time they enter and exit a building. Additionally, all campers will be asked to sanitize their hands before every Canteen, before and after every mealtime, and in between all activities.
As always, campers will be divided into groups of 4 cabins per group, two girls’ cabins and two boys’ cabins. Every summer at CDR we have five camper groups. This summer, in keeping with the Texas Government Guidelines for overnight camps, each group will practice physical distancing from the other groups. Activities that typically involve the whole camp like worship, hymn time, and silly songs will be modified or moved out of the Rec Hall and into the Pavilion or another outdoor area where more distance between groups can be maintained. Campers will sit with their groups so to maintain a safe distance from other camper groups while still singing and worshiping together. Groups will be dismissed individually so that groups do not intermingle as they go on their way.
We are implementing the following measures to limit the risk of exposure to our campers and staff from the outside world during camp.
- Visiting: This summer we will not have any visiting opportunities during any camp session. There will be no visitors to the camp unless necessary for camp operations, such as food delivery.
- Mail: We will not deliver mail of any kind during our sessions this summer. This also includes our usual “email your camper” program. Instead, we encourage you to write notes labeled for each day and leave them in your camper’s bags.
- Non-Resident Staff: Office staff and kitchen staff do not live on site during the summer. As such, they will be required to practice physical distancing from all campers and summer staff. They will also be screened daily upon arrival for any symptoms of COVID-19 and have their temperatures taken.
- Day Camp Cancelled: This summer we will not have Pee Wee campers coming into camp from various locations each day for our Day Camp program.
Hygiene and proper sanitation are always a priority throughout our summer program, but we recognize that this summer it is especially important. We will be enhancing our cleaning and disinfecting efforts in the following ways:
- Cabin cleanup is a part of every camper’s daily schedule. This year, however, cabin cleanup will go further than sweeping the floor, taking out the trash, and making the beds. Every day, staff will also sanitize all major contact points like door handles, handrails, bunk bed ladders, etc. Cabins will be checked every day for cleanliness by the Program Director or Head Women’s Counselor.
- Bathhouses will be cleaned and disinfected three times per day. We will have several staff members every session whose entire job is to maintain a sanitary environment in the bathhouses. Peak usage times, such as first thing in the morning and right before bed, will be staggered to avoid crowding, and all surfaces will be sanitized between each group.
We are taking extra measures in our foodservice and at meal times in order to protect campers and staff.
- Everyone will sanitize their hands before entering and upon exiting the Mess Hall
- We will alter the way food is served to eliminate or reduce contact of frequently touched objects
- All meals will be served on disposable dishes and with disposable utensils that will be discarded after use to avoid any germs being spread through dishes.
- Camper Groups will not eat in close proximity to each other.
- Tables and chairs will be sanitized fully after every use.
As always, there will be a licensed healthcare professional on-site at all times for every session. Medical attention will be available 24/7 for any camper health concerns. Our medical staff will be specifically trained to recognize symptoms of COVID-19 and make the proper response.
Our Medical staff will work in partnership with the Summer Staff to constantly monitor the health of our campers. They will act quickly to identify, contain, and treat any camper or staff with any health issues or illnesses.
We have prepared safe and comfortable isolation areas for any camper or staff member that shows signs or symptoms of communicable diseases, like COVID-19. We will assess the camper or staff member and respond appropriately to their situation.
We will communicate closely with the camper’s family as assessments are made and responses are enacted.
If we are informed that a camper or staff has tested positive for COVID-19 during or shortly after their camp session, we will notify all parents/guardians of campers in that session as soon as possible. If we receive this information during a session and you would like to pick up your camper early, we will do everything we can to honor that decision and facilitate an easy and safe pick-up.