Woodland Bible Camp in Indiana COVID-19 Information
This letter is to parents of minor campers and adult campers at Woodland Bible Camp for 2020. Please read and reply to David Pound at poundhouse@aol.com or reply all.
May 27, 2020
Dear Friends of Woodland,
Over the past several weeks, the Woodland Bible Camp Board of Directors and Camp Event Directors have been discussing whether or not to open Woodland for camp activities as of July 5, 2020 (Phase 5 in Indiana) and, if so, what health and safety measures to implement and follow. As expected, there are a variety of opinions and viewpoints. The Camp Board believes it is important to follow the published standard of care health and safety policy for operating camps in the context of the coronavirus pandemic. Therefore, Woodland will follow CDC guidelines and the recommendations of the State of Indiana. These documents are either incorporated into this email or connecting links are listed.
The Board desires to have Woodland operational this summer. A revised camp schedule is included in the email.
The Board would like for you to review this information and after prayerful consideration, let us know if you plan to send your children to Woodland this summer. It is possible that the coronavirus situation and recommendations will change between now and July 5. However, we welcome your input now as we must continue to plan in advance.
This lengthy writing contains the following sections:
Based on CDC Considerations for Youth and Summer Camps issued May 19, 2020
Website: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/schools-childcare/Camps-Decision-Tree.pdf
Special Considerations for Overnight Camps
In addition to the considerations listed above, sleep away camps may also consider:
- Limit camp attendance to staff and campers who live in the local geographic area (e.g., community, city, town, or county).
- Align mats or beds so that campers and staff sleep head-to-toe at least 6 feet apart.
- Add physical barriers, such as plastic flexible screens, between bathroom sinks and between beds, especially when they cannot be at least 6 feet apart.
- Monitor and enforce social distancingand healthy hygiene behaviors throughout the day and night.
- Clean and disinfectbathrooms regularly (e.g., in the morning and evening, after times of heavy use) using EPA-registered disinfectantsexternal icon.
- Encourage staff and campers to avoid placing toothbrushes or toiletries directly on counter surfaces.
- Work with camp administrators, nurses, and other healthcare providers to identify an isolation room or area to separate anyone who exhibits COVID-like symptoms. If the camp has a nurse or other healthcare provider, they should use Standard and Transmission-Based Precautionswhen caring for sick people. See: What Healthcare Personnel Should Know About Caring for Patients with Confirmed or Possible COVID-19 Infection.
- Staff and campers with symptoms(fever, cough, or runny nose) at camp should immediately be separated and sent home and referred to their healthcare provider. Families of sick campers may follow CDC Guidance for caring for oneself and others who are sick.
- Staff and campers who have had close contactwith a person who has symptoms should be separated and sent home as well, and follow CDC guidance for community-related exposure. If symptoms develop, families should follow CDC guidance for caring for oneself and others who are sick.
- Establish procedures for safely transporting anyone sick to their home or to a healthcare facility in an emergency.
- Take steps to ensure any external community organizations that share the camp facilities follow these considerations.
In light of data about how COVID-19 spreads, along with evidence of widespread COVID-19 illness in communities across the country, CDC recommends that people wear a cloth face covering to cover their nose and mouth in the community setting. This is an additional public health measure people should take to reduce the spread of COVID-19 in addition to (not instead of) social distancing, frequent hand cleaning and other everyday preventive actions. A cloth face covering is not intended to protect the wearer, but may prevent the spread of virus from the wearer to others. This would be especially important in the event that someone is infected but does not have symptoms. A cloth face covering should be worn whenever people must go into public settings (grocery stores, for example). Medical masks and N-95 respirators are reserved for healthcare workers and other first responders, as recommended by current CDC guidance.
Cleaning does not kill germs, but by removing them, it lowers their numbers and the risk of spreading infection. If a surface may have gotten the virus on it from a person with or suspected to have COVID-19, the surface should be cleaned and disinfected. Disinfecting kills germs.
Based on State of Indiana COVID-19 Recommendations by the
Governor May 1, 2020
On Friday, May 1, 2020, Governor Holcomb of Indiana provided an update on commerce and public policy related to the coronavirus. It is available at the website: https://backontrack.in.gov/index.htm. This information was discussed yesterday among a number of camp board members and camp event directors. There are five stages of reopening for Indiana outlined in the document. In reviewing this, there is not specific language addressing church camps with overnight participation. For example, Stage 3 is planned for May 24-June 13. Gatherings of up to 100 people are permitted. The wording provided is that “the CDC will provide guidance on day camp and overnight camps”. The same wording applies to Stage 4, June 14- July 3 and Stage 5, starting July 4. This will likely be a dynamic process influenced by the number of new coronavirus cases, etc. as we progress through the reopening. It is noted that school buildings and grounds are closed until June 30. Therefore, based on this information, it seems prudent that we delay our usual camp activities until July 4. Below are current thoughts on how this would look:
2020 Revised Woodland Bible Camp Schedule as of 5/28/2020
How implementing this policy would impact camp life at Woodland.
May
May 15-16. Planned organized work day. Focus on cleaning and setting up the kitchen and storage room areas, maintenance work and landscaping. A number of volunteers are planning on attending (< 25). If you haven’t already done so, please contact David Pound if you are interested in attending.
May 22-23. No organized work day.
May 29-30. Planned organized work day. General work day to finish up camp preparation inside and outside. Please contact Jeff Adams if you are interested in attending.
May 31, Sunday. 5th Sunday Singing at Woodland. CANCELED. Please share with information with your church and contact Ed Woosley for more information.
June
June 7-13. Senior Week. CANCELED. RESCHEDULED July 5-11. See comments below.
June 14-20. Junior Week. CANCELED. Due to the camper age group in the context of the coronavirus situation and the camp schedule, Junior Week will NOT be rescheduled. There may be a Saturday event later in the summer for Junior week campers.
June 21-27. Intermediate Week. CANCELED. RESCHEDULED July 5-11. See comments below.
July
Senior/Intermediate Week (Rescheduled/Combined Week) July 5-11 (Sun. – Sat.)
Grades 7 through High School
Directors: Justin Adams, Kevin Parr
Contact Justin at jadams85@gmail.com.
Music Week July 12-20 (Sunday – Monday)
Grades: 9 – 12 & First Two Years of College/Age 20
At this time, the final performance will be at Sellersburg Church of Christ, the evening of July 20. Parents should pick up their children there. The final weekend and July 20 plans are tentative at this time due to the coronavirus situation. Updates will be provided when available.
Directors: Joan Marsh & Ginna Franklin. Contact Joan at sjmarshus@yahoo.com
August
Woodland Family Weekend Aug. 21-23 (Fri. 6 p.m.-Sun. 1p.m.)
Directors: Alan Borders & Planning Committee.
Contact Alan Borders at AKBorders@nwcable.net
September
Fall Retreat Sept. 11-13 (Fri. 6 p.m. – Sun. 1 p.m.)
Ages: Grades 8-12 & First Two Years of College/Age 20
Director: Jeff Adams. Contact Jeff at 812-987-6006 or email at jeffreywadams58@gmail.com
Senior Citizens Week Sept. 14-18 (Monday 1 p.m. to Friday noon)
Directors: SCW Planning Committee
Contact Ed Woosley at 812-324-2579
Woodland Bible Camp, Inc. Annual Meeting Sept. 15 (Tuesday 6 p.m.)
Contact David Pound at poundhouse@aol.com
- How Implementation of the CDC Guidelines Would Impact Camp at Woodland
Health and safety measures to limit coronavirus at camp:
Any parent/guardian or camper who had experienced exposure to someone with COVID-19 or experienced fever, cough, or shortness of breath within the 2 weeks prior to the camp event would not be permitted to come (unless appropriate COVID-19 testing was done in advance and results were available.)
Any staff or camper who developed symptoms concerning for COVID-19 would be isolated at camp until they could return home.
Limit any nonessential visitors, volunteers, and activities involving external groups or organizations as much as possible – especially with individuals not from the local geographic area (e.g., community, town, city, or county).
All campers and staff would have their temperatures taken daily and asked about certain symptoms, e.g. cough, shortness of breath. A designated staff person would be in charge of this.
Although social distancing would be advised and enforced, it would not be feasible 24/7. Parents would need to decide if they are comfortable with this.
Recommended hygiene measures would be encouraged and monitored. This would include hand-washing, use of hand sanitizer, wearing cloth face mask if closer than 6 feet, etc. Parents would would need to furnish the masks. Parents need to understand that these measures cannot be enforced at all times.
Partitions/”Sneeze” guards would be installed at the registration desk and in restrooms. A given number of individuals would be permitted in the bath houses or any facility at one time.
There would be 4 persons in a cabin. For camper cabins (depending on camper ages), this would be one cabin leader and three campers. That would equate to 18 girl campers and 15 boy campers. Other housing options, e.g. tents, the Tabernacle, etc. are not practical. Individuals would be situated head to toe on the bunks.
Meals would be served in disposable containers. Meals could be eaten within the dining hall or outside practicing social distancing measures. Tables, etc. would be disinfected between meals.
Air conditioning. The CDC suggests air flow with windows open. Thus, AC would not be used in the facilities with the exception of the kitchen. Campers would not be permitted in the kitchen. Air filtration systems are not effective.
The recreational building could be used, but according to guidelines. Indoor games could be played using face masks as needed.
Outdoor recreation could be done bearing in mind the guidelines and cleaning sports equipment as advised.
Avoid activities and events such as field trips and special performances. This could impact some of the usual performances/travel during Music Week.
I hope this information has been of interest to you and helpful in making a decision about attending Woodland this summer. If Woodland is operational this summer, we pledge to follow this policy to the best of our ability for the sake of all who attend and for their families at home. Please be mindful that despite our best intentions and efforts, it is possible that someone could develop COVID-19 while attending camp or after returning home. This would not necessarily mean that the virus was contracted while at camp due to the incubation period upwards to 14 days and the asymptomatic status of many who are infected. The medical community is learning more about COVID-19 every day as has been evidenced over the past couple of months. It is our hope that you may find peace in your decision. We would love to see you at Woodland this summer as the Lord directs our paths.
Thank you.
David Pound on behalf of the Board of Directors