 Jeanne
Otto, RN, MS
FOUNDER’S CHAIR
Dear Camp Nurses,
Many moons ago, as a single parent of three young children, camp
nursing provided a busy, supervised summer for the kids while keeping
me gainfully employed. But I quickly realized that a camp nurse
needed different skills than those I possessed. During the eight
summers that my children and I happily went to camp, I learned
what I needed to know – the hard way.
Several years later I was an assistant professor of nursing at
Northeastern University. The continuing education department asked
for suggestions for one-day workshops. I immediately volunteered
to do one for camp nurses. The first workshop drew nurses from
eight States as well as a few camp directors and the professionalization
of camp nursing started.
I continued to do these workshops for many years and eventually
built a mailing list. Every so often I'd write a letter to people
on my list. That letter was the only resource for camp nurses back
then. I also functioned as an expert witness when difficult situations
went awry and was a member of the American Camp Association
(ACA). I served ACA as a Standards Visitor and conducted workshops
for camp directors.
In the middle of all this, I started the Association of Camp Nurses
with a newsletter and a network of both people and written resources.
One of the major problems at that point was the very few publications
with information about camp nursing. Nurses, desperate for guidelines,
did not know where to look for the few things which did exist.
In response to that need and with support for my university, I
conducted a study: "Profile of the Camp Nurse in New England." The
study documented the major components of healthcare at camp and
offered guidance for future practice.
As time went on, the Association of Camp Nurses began to grow
while retirement began to attract me. So I called the first meeting
of camp nurses during ACA's 1990 national conference in Boston.
Thirteen nurses attended. They decided to keep the Association
going. Linda Erceg became president and a new Board was formed.
The genesis of today's ACN was started.
Many readers still know the isolation when at camp as the only
nurse. That isolation has changed. Because nurses care, many are
working to develop camp nursing practice. Today's ACN is the result
of volunteer efforts to not only improve camp nursing practice
but also help camps be healthy communities.
I hope your camp nursing experience is filled with wonder!
Jeanne Otto, Founder of ACN
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