The town Health Department has licensed five summer camps this season. But the Recreation Department’s Summer Adventures program, a destination for hundreds of local kids, wasn’t among them.
Relax… that’s because Summer Adventures is town-sponsored, and this makes it a “program” subject to different health and safety requirements from those of a “camp,” according to Heidi Porter, director of health and human services.
State summer camp regulations don’t apply to Summer Adventures, Porter told the Board of Health last week, but the program is nevertheless in compliance.
Most of the smaller camps run in several communities, she said.
Mark Waksmonski, the department’s community health nurse, handles the inspections. He told the board all of the camps in Bedford are categorized as day camps and sports camps under state code. Each week is considered a separate camp for permitting purposes, he said.
Camp operators have to submit a health care consultant agreement and meet the required staff-to-camper ratio, he continued, or they aren’t allowed to operate. The code allows an on-site healthcare supervisor – a staff member who has been trained by the consultant to treat injuries.
In answer to a question from Board member Dr. Ann Kiessling, Waksmonski said the state does not require that counselors be vaccinated for Covid-19.
Waksmonski said he starts reviewing documents a couple of weeks before the start of each camp; “98 percent of the permitting process is done before inspection,” although “there’s always a rush in June.”
On the first day of each camp, he visits the operation. A fire drill is required within the first 24 hours. Other requirements are securing participants’ medications, first-aid kits, staff knowledge of policies, and facilities that meet code, he said.
Mike Rosenberg can be reached at [email protected], or 781-983-1763
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