Health and Safety
Health & Comfort
Mt. Gilead has a camp nurse on staff 24/7 during the summer camp season.
Mt. Gilead Counselors and Leadership Staff are certified in Red Cross CPR & First Aid, and about half of our camp staff are additionally certified in Red Cross Lifeguarding.
Your camper’s comfort, privacy, and safety are our top priority, and we spend ample time training our staff and gaining parent feedback before your camper ever arrives at Mt. Gilead. As a parent, you will have the opportunity to tell us everything about your camper via our Parent Forms available to you during your registration process. You will then have the opportunity to approve who you would like us to share that information with, and what actions you would like us to take as a result.
In the case of an emergency or injury, parents are always contacted right away via their home & cell phones while the child is being treated.
Medications
All medications (other than inhalers) are locked up, dispersed, monitored and documented by the camp nurse daily. Parents will submit this information
Safety
At Mt. Gilead, we invest heavily in your child’s safety at camp and have one of the highest staff to camper ratios at 1 Staff member to every 6 Campers.
Red Cross Lifeguarding: Mt. Gilead is a registered Red Cross Lifeguard Training location. We train our own lifeguards (and sometimes other camps as well) on-site annually in CPR, First Aid, and Water Rescues. This allows us to have the majority of our staff trained for any medical emergency, at any time. Counselors unable to be trained as a red cross certified lifeguard receive CPR and First Aid training separately before camp begins.
Fire Safety: Mt. Gilead uses an outside agency to annually fill, check, and certify it’s fire extinguishers which are located in every one of our buildings. All Staff
High Ropes Safety: Mt. Gilead uses an outside ACCT Accredited agency to train and certify all of our high ropes instructors and staff. All staff are over 21 years of age and must pass a physical and written test before working on our ropes course. The ropes, harnesses, helmets, platforms
Riflery Safety: Mt. Gilead uses an outside National Rifle Association trainer to train, test and certify all of our riflery instructors. All staff are over 21 years of age and must pass a physical and written test before leading riflery activities. All rifles used in our riflery program are 22
Food Safety: Mt. Gilead has a ServSafe certified employee on hand at all times monitoring our kitchen and food prep. Mt. Gilead’s kitchen is also monitored and inspected by the PA Department of Health and awarded a certificate of operation annually.
Water Safety: Mt. Gilead’s drinking water is tested every morning by kitchen staff, in addition, the drinking water, swimming pool & swimming pond is tested weekly by the state of Pennsylvania (Department of Health). Lifeguards also run a swimming pool
Camper Safety: Although
Staff Hiring & Background Checks: Mt. Gilead has
Ministry Safe – Camper Protection: Mt. Gilead Camp has a stellar history in camper protection, and we pride ourselves in selecting the best staff and training our staff the best we can before your camper ever arrives. Part of this pre-camp training involves respecting the privacy of campers, awareness of camper to staff boundaries and procedures on protecting camper to camper interactions. We use Ministry Safe certified individuals and standards while training our staff. You can learn more about Ministry Safe here: http://ministrysafe.com/the-safety-system/. We encourage every parent to Google their prospective camp’s camper safety history online before registering.
High Ratio Staff to Camper Supervision: With a 1 to 6 staff/camper ratio, staff are not only supervising campers directly in their
Security: Mt. Gilead is located on 200 acres of private property, with employees trained intentionally to create a secure and safe environment for your camper to be herself. No one is allowed on or off the property without approval or invitation. Once your camper arrives, we embrace the life of a “visitor-free” policy. No family members may pick up a camper without previous permission from the parent who registered or dropped off the child on the first day. State-issued ID will be used to identify the visitor or family member. A phone call will be made to the registering parent if any unapproved visitor arrives at camp. There are many details that go into our security plan for your camper, and if you have further questions, you may always contact us through our website.