This article was in partnership with YMCA of Greenville.

“Going away to camp is a big event for both parents and campers,” says Cory Harrison, YMCA Camp Greenville Executive Director. While kids are eager for fun and freedom, knowing Greenville Health System (GHS) nurses staff the GHS Health Hut can make parents, for many of whom "deciding to send their kid to camp [is] a huge step,” relax more during drop-off day.

For YMCA Camp Greenville, a partnership with GHS on the camp's new Health Hut means more than improved medical care for campers. The 3,996 sq. foot medical building, with two exam rooms, four camper/patient observation rooms and medical supplies, is staffed with two GHS nurses at all times.

"One of the things we are often asked is about the safety of camp," said Harrison. "The credibility that the GHS Health Hut brings to our program, which no other camp has, is very unique."

The partnership between GHS and the YMCA happened as most beautiful things do: through dedication.

Dr. Donald Wiper, who happens to be the Chairman of OBGYN and the Chief Clinical Officer for Patient Experience and System Culture at GHS, noticed the need for updated facilities while spending time with his daughter at camp. He started volunteering at the former Health Hut.

“The buildings that were built with a 20-year lifespan in the 1950s were still being used. Whether it was the cabins, the gym… certainly the health facility that was there was on that list as well.”

Dr. Wiper started conversations with Camp Greenville after learning more about the needs of camp – both in terms of medical volunteers during summer camp and their outdated facilities. What began with the doctor "working up there alongside the [volunteer] nurses during summer sessions just taking care of campers" led to his spearheading the GHS partnership now broadening Camp Greenville's scope and level of care.

One of the best parts of the partnerships? Support from the larger GHS community. Many camps, said Harrison, "are scrambling to find a nurse and often not being able to find them because nurses are sometimes cost-prohibitive." That's why a partnership with GHS is so vital. At the GHS Health Hut, "to know that there are nurses from GHS, and to know that there's such a tight partnership and bond there," means that "the chances of something going wrong are much lower and therefore making YMCA Camp Greenville safer than camps that don't have that kind of hospital partnership."

Dr. Wiper explained that they "recruited from the GHS nursing ranks," with Harrison adding that the process of training the new GHS Health Hut staff was extensive in order to transition the nurses from the hospital environment to the workings of a camp.

With GHS also came improved technology, said Dr. Wiper, and Camp Greenville "put in an electronic medical record system so our tracking of medicines, health history, allergies and advice from parents about every child is now highly accurate and immediately accessible. Also, with our GHS partnership, if campers need more care, we can use our electronic records and all the resources at GHS to get any kid that needs it down the mountain very quickly and into the hands of GHS experts who are waiting for their arrival already fully briefed on the situation with medical records in hand. It is what every parent would want and what every kid deserves."

Not only will GHS's support make parents feel more secure, but Harrison aims to use the new resources to expand the accessibility of Camp Greenville. "When you're a camper and you're a kid in our society that has a certain medical disability, a life-threatening disability or one that just requires special treatment," said Harrison. "Often you're centered and focused around camps that are for kids just like you."

Now, Harrison wants to implement programs that allow even more integration and diversity at Camp Greenville, including designated week-long sessions in Summer 2018 for kids who are medically vulnerable. Specifically, there will be special weeks focused on meeting the needs of children with diabetes and asthma. GHS will strategically staff the Health Hut with nurses with special training in pediatric diabetes and asthma, backed up with GHS doctors specializing in these chronic illnesses. The experience of being around new and different kids at camp, Harrison believes, is essential. The thought is that kids can have the freedom to attend a camp that doesn’t specialize in chronic illnesses, while still having the medical support they need.

With interest in Camp Greenville growing and wait lists piling up, "it would be very easy for Camp Greenville just to raise its prices." But Harrison is committed to making sure Camp Greenville is "diverse and broad, in culture and color and essence and spirit."

For GHS, the partnership with Camp Greenville is a chance to engage with youth and reach out proactively to the community through the YMCA. As part of their mission is to be more than a hospital, Camp Greenville offers GHS an opportunity to support the community in creating and nurturing healthy lives.

"We are a critical resource for our patients and families during times of illness, and we are a partner with the community in promoting wellness. We want to encourage healthy lifestyle, and most of all, we want to encourage people to get fit and be active. This aligns well with the YMCA’s focus on youth development, healthy living and social responsibility," said Dr. Wiper.

GHS's commitment to improving health aligned perfectly with the YMCA's commitment to youth development, and for Dr. Wiper, GHS and Camp Greenville's missions of outreach are intertwined: "We have a huge commitment to the wellbeing of the people of the Upstate, and that’s sort of our social responsibility."

As for the future, Harrison and Dr. Wiper intend for Camp Greenville to continue offering specialized camp sessions, reaching out to kids with specific diseases or illnesses and incorporating their needs. It's about creating opportunities that didn't exist and providing a sense of security and support so kids can have the freedom to branch out.

The core of these new opportunities at Camp Greenville is the medical support made possible through their partnership with GHS, allowing parents to drive away feeling confident that their child will be safe and giving kids the chance to run, play, and explore without their health holding them back.

And, for the kids heading to camp, they have a comfortable space to go to with dedicated volunteer nurses on site. Even if it’s just to help them with the largest need during overnight camp: Homesickness. The cure? A good snack, water, and some reassuring words.