Camp Health and Safety (was RE: Bad rumor)
Jim Miller Jr. (jmillerjr@LSFCU.ORG)
Fri, 30 Jul 1999 10:18:49 -0400
As a former Camp Health Officer at Rock Hill Scout Reservation, I have
been amazed at this thread. Apparently, there are a few Camp Directors
out there who are failing at their job of providing their Camp Health
Officers with all of the equipment necessary for the job.
There exist, thanks to the great printing press in Irving, several BSA
publications which provide all of the details of this position. If your
camp does not have a few copies, get them. Here is the minimum set of
publications I would recommend every Camp Health Officer be intimately
familiar with:
19-308 Camp Health And Safety
19-147 Report of Fatal or Serious Injury or Illness Folder
19-317 OSHA Regulations for Bloodborn Pathogens
19-450 OSHA Laws That Affect Camps and Conferences
19-451 Request for Religious Exemption from Medical Care and Treatment
(Youth)
19-452 Request for Religious Exemption from Medical Care and Treatment
(Adult)
The above are Bin/Resource items and all but the Exemption form are
restricted to being ordered only by local Councils.
33681 First Aid Log
35515A Health and Safety Guide
These are NOT Bin/Resource items, and for some unknown reason, only a
local Council may order the First Aid Log. My Troop keeps one of these
in our own First Aid kit, and we record in it just like a Camp should.
(This may have to do with the fact that the SM is a respiratory
therapist, one ASM is a former EMT and Camp Health Officer, and one ASM
is a police officer)
A Camp Health Officer has an incredible amount of authority in the BSA.
He or she can shut down the camp for health and/or safety reasons and
even the Camp Director cannot override that decision (although they
should make it together).
If nothing else, Camp Health and Safety (19-308) is required reading for
everyone in this position. This is the book that spells out the rules. I
haven't read the latest edition, but I know that when I did use it, it
covered the job in great detail. During one Camp Visitation I was faced
with a Visitation Specialist who knew this book and wanted to know if I
did as well. When I gave him the exact steps from the book for handling
a fatality in camp, he was satisfied that I was properly trained for my
job.
All of these publications, and many more, can be found in another
publication - District/Council Health and Safety Support Literature
(19-400) - available through your local Council.
Jim
James J. Miller, Jr. Meechgalhukquot
Assistant Scoutmaster-Troop 5, Kearny, NJ "Redheaded One"
Eagle-1988 Vigil-1994 I used to be a Bobwhite(NE-II-76)
District Vice-Chairman - Venturing, Hudson Liberty District
Northern New Jersey Council, BSA
