Meals at Camp

Most meals are eaten in the Lodge as a full community with all units in attendance. Each unit is assigned 2-3 tables and that is where your unit will sit. At least twice a week we have ‘Scramble-Amble’. At that meal you can seat at any table in the lodge! It’s a great time to visit with friends or siblings in other units.

One person at each table is the Jumper for that meal. It’s their job to come early to the meal, set the table, and serve food as it comes out of the kitchen. This allows us to eat family style while minimizing traffic in and out of the kitchen doors. Don’t worry, Jumpers have plenty of time to eat too.

After eating, dishes are cleared and brought back to the kitchen and the table is wiped down. Then, out come the songbooks! We sing after lunch and dinner every day – a great community bonding time. New campers learn the songs very quickly and soon everyone is belting out “The Mermaid” or “Piney Wood Hills”. Our music staff choose 3-5 songs for each meal so we get to sing most every song in the songbook at least once or twice each session.

Nutrition & Dietary Needs

Meals 3We’re very proud of the food our kitchen provides to us. We have a lot of variety, and most everything we eat is made from scratch. We encourage everyone to try a little bit of everything on the table and we’re confident you’ll find something you like, but if you don’t, we will have bread, peanut butter and jelly available as an alternative. Favorites include “Killer Mac”, hoagie sandwiches and vegetarian chili. If you get hungry between meals the kitchen puts out a variety of fruit that you can swing by and grab on your way to an activity.

Meals 4It is our intention to meet all the needs of our campers – we regularly serve vegetarian, vegan, dairy-free and gluten-free options if the main meal doesn’t meet those needs. We encourage parent/guardians of campers with special dietary needs to contact us in the spring to be sure we have a plan to nourish them well. We want everyone to enjoy eating at camp, but it is part of the experience to try something new – you never know what you might like if you don’t try!

Our menus are reviewed by a certified Dietician each year. At least one vegetable side is served with every lunch and dinner, usually along with salad. We strive to use as many fresh ingredients as possible, and continue to explore ways to source our food more locally. Sometimes garden produce ends up in the kitchen – lettuce for salads, potatoes with eggs for breakfast, or maybe strawberries in a cobbler for dessert!

Kitchen Facilities & Staff

Our commercial kitchen serves all of our meals in the lodge. We hire  a Kitchen Manager and Head Cook each summer, as well as nine staff to serve as prep cooks and dishwashers. Many of our former campers come back to work their “kitchen year” and have a blast, learning lifetime food prep skills as well as getting an opportunity to get out of the kitchen and spend the day with campers at least once a week.

From soups, to pasta dishes, to hamburgers and corn on the cob, this team can do it all!

Health Care at Camp

Health Center 1Although we hope campers never have to visit the Health Center for an injury or illness, we are proud to have a great facility and care team at camp. We hire a qualified medical staff, including an RN and assistant, available 24 hours a day. They can take care of colds, scrapes, bruises, tummy aches, and more. All staff working at camp are required to have basic First Aid and CPR training for the summer, and many staff have advanced knowledge such as Wilderness First Aid, so most scrapes and cuts can be addressed by the camper’s Unit Leaders while out and about. However, staff are trained to bring campers to the Health Center for anything requiring care beyond basic First Aid, and our Nursing team is ready to help with any medical situation that may arise. All visits to the Health Center are logged so it’s easy to reference a previous visit and add notes to update the care plan.

We have a number of campers and staff who come with their own medications, and our health center staff make sure everyone receives their meds on time, mainly after a meal in the lodge. All medications should come to camp pre-packaged, separated for each daily dose – typically your pharmacy can do this.

Immunization Policy

Camp Nor’wester abides by an immunization policy that is in line with all school and childcare immunization guidelines, based upon the recommendations of the Washington State Department of Health. We require campers and staff to be FULLY immunized before camp begins. Campers and staff with medical exceptions will be allowed at camp with documentation from their physician. Personal exemptions will not be accepted.

Required Vaccinations* for all Campers and Staff Members

  • Measles, Mumps, Rubella (MMR)
  • Tetanus, Diphtheria, Pertussis (Tdap)

* Exceptions to the immunization policy will only be granted where the camper’s health care practitioner determines that a medical exemption is necessary to maintain the camper’s health. Medical exceptions are subject to the review and acceptance of the Camp Nor’wester Health Team, and will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

Additional Vaccinations for compliance with the State Department of Health*

  • Chickenpox (Varicella)
  • Hepatitis A
  • Hepatitis B
  • Pneumococcal disease
  • Polio (Poliomyelitis)

 *Non-adherence to these vaccinations due to medical reasons must be given to us in writing. Risk of attending camp un-immunized may result in early departure or restrictions in programming opportunities.

 Measles, Mumps, and Rubella (MMR) Vaccine

The MMR vaccine is required for ALL campers wishing to attend Camp Nor’wester, as well as all staff members. As of summer 2019, a new Washington state law removed the personal and philosophical option to exempt children from the MMR vaccine required for school and child care attendance. Medical and religious exemptions are not affected by this new law. You can find more information about the immunization requirements at: www.doh.wa.gov/SCCI

Tdap Vaccine

Because of the rustic nature of Camp Nor’wester and the amount of exposure we all have to potential bacteria in the case of cuts, scrapes, and wounds, we require that all community members have the tetanus vaccine. Since the tetanus germ lives in soil and manure and cannot be removed from the environment, we need everyone to have full protection against this bacteria.

COVID-19

We continue to live in a world affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, and therefore will continue to follow CDC recommendations and prioritize our alignment with public health.

  • COVID-19 vaccinations and current boosters for COVID-19 are highly encouraged for campers and staff but will not be required for participation this summer.
  • We especially request that hired staff and volunteers have current COVID-19 vaccination and up to date boosters. Staff well-being has a major impact on Camp operations and the camper experience as a whole, and in the spirit of Community Care and aiming for a strong and healthy community overall, we recognize that staff health is one of the most influential factors.

As we look ahead to the future, these policies may shift, and we want to emphasize that this is a living document and will be adapted at the discretion of the medical advisory team and the Directors.

As caregivers for the Nor’wester community, we have a responsibility to follow standards such as requiring a physician’s visit prior to camp, which makes us in compliance with our accreditation by the American Camp Association. While we respect the individual choices that families and staff members make regarding their bodies, we also must take needed precaution and steps to ensure that our community is a safe place, optimizing everyone for fullest possible health.

Please direct any questions, comments, or feedback to Meaghan Baumgartner, Executive Director. Thank you for your compliance and understanding of our organizational duty to uphold safety and standards in our community.

Medical Staff, Facilities & Protocols

Our nursing team will treat campers for minor cuts, scrapes, or injuries, as well as things like colds or upset stomachs. They will also provide initial care and monitoring of potentially emergent situations. If the nurse determines additional medical care is needed, a transportation plan will be devised based on availability of staff chaperones, time of day, weather conditions and seriousness of the illness/injury. Generally, at least one staff will accompany campers to the hospital in Friday Harbor, which has 24-hour emergency room facilities. We have great relationships with local emergency services including San Juan EMS and Airflight, should their expertise be required. Non-emergent situations that require outside medical attention will be scheduled for the earliest appointment possible at the Hospital Clinic.

Camp will contact the family of any camper receiving medical care outside of camp, as well as any camper who spends the night in the Health Center. If your child is injured or becomes ill while on a trip away from camp, our Nursing staff will contact you and put you in touch with the staff member(s) at the scene as early as possible, given the situation.