Health & Safety: Additional Safety Measures

Each year, we work hard to keep our community healthy so that we can have an incredible summer. This year, we are going “above and beyond” in every aspect of health and safety, while also following the CDC, ACA (American Camp Association), and state and local health departments recommendations related to COVID-19. Below you will find a list of many of the extra health and safety precautions we will be following in addition to our usual health procedures.

Quick links for information below:

• Find out how we will use masks and physical distancing. We will be outdoors as much as possible.
• Learn about our increased ventilation and HEPA filters, as well as the added cabin updates to help stay healthy this year.
• Girls will be washing hands and hand sanitizing often.
• Learn about the smaller groups we will utilize this summer: Families and Neighborhoods and how we will create a bubble.
• Read more on testing, vaccinations, and health screening protocols.
• We are improving our cleaning protocols. Camper water bottle washing will be part of the routine.

We will be putting multiple Nonpharmaceutical Interventions (NPIs) in place to protect our camp community this summer. NPIs are actions that individuals and communities can take to help slow the spread of contagious illnesses. Research has shown that diligent use of multiple NPIs was successful in preventing and mitigating SARS-CoV-2 transmission in the summer camps that opened successfully last summer. Although no single NPI can prevent the spread of COVID, by utilizing numerous safety measures this summer, we will be able to limit our campers and staff from contracting and spreading COVID at camp. Below you will find many of the NPIs we will be putting into place this summer.

Masks

We plan for girls to enjoy long stretches of time mask-free this summer! Girls will need to wear a mask during specific times when distancing between Families isn’t possible. You can read more about when girls will need to wear masks and what types of masks campers will need to bring to camp on our Masks information page.

Physical Distancing

A camper’s cabin group will be like her family at home, so girls will not need to worry about distancing when with their Family group. We will practice distancing between Family groups and at any time groups are in the same locations or mixing. We know that relationships are important at camp, so we will have fun, new ways for girls to spend time with camp friends, Penpals, or sisters outside of their Family group.

Enjoying our Outdoor Facility

Greystone is blessed with many outdoor spaces that we can enjoy…and we will be using them all of the time this summer! We will be outside as much as possible, including enjoying meals in our brand new open-air dining facility, The Fort. If campers are ever inside a building for an activity, they will only be there with their cabin group and will not mix with other groups.

Increased Ventilation and HEPA filters

All of our cabins have open windows with screens, and we will be adding more fans to increase air flow. Each cabin will now have 2 box fans and one pedestal fan (we know our campers will especially appreciate the extra breeze!). Our Health Hut will also utilize screened windows and fans in most areas.

We have added HEPA/UVGI filters to the AC systems in our Health Hut and White Hall areas, which will help eliminate any germs in the recirculated air.

Cabin Details

Bunks will be spaced out in each cabin to ensure 6 feet of distance between each head. To cut down on germs, we will ask girls to keep their toiletries in their toiletry bucket under the counter or on the cabin shelf (instead of laying out on the counter).

As mentioned above, each cabin will have additional fans to increase air circulation, and the screen windows will remain open to provide optimal air flow. Hand sanitizer pumps have been installed on the outside of each cabin (upper and lower), and girls will use these each time they enter and exit the cabin space.

Most cabins at our longer sessions will have two counselors this summer, adding an extra staff member to care for your daughter. Double the counselor fun! This “added set of eyes” will help in monitoring the health of the cabin and will provide an extra set of hands to keep the cabin space clean and sanitized. We know your girls will love this change!

Hand Hygiene

We have installed more hand washing stations and hand sanitizer dispensers throughout the camp property, including in all activity areas. As we mentioned above, all cabins will have a hand sanitizer dispenser next to their cabin door. Campers will be using hand sanitizer when entering and exiting their cabins and before and after every activity.

Girls will be reminded to wash their hands with soap and water before all meals, after using the restroom, after interacting with animals and/or gardening, and any time hands appear dirty. We will have fun ways to remind and encourage the campers to keep their hands clean!

Staying in Smaller Groups: Families and Neighborhoods

We are dividing campers into smaller groups which we will call Families and Neighborhoods. You can read more about these groups on our Families and Neighborhoods page.

Creating a Bubble

Once campers and staff arrive at camp, they will stay at camp, allowing us to create a “bubble” with our camp community. Camp has always felt like a bubble in many ways, and we’re just increasing those efforts this summer.

We will not offer tours during the summer to eliminate any possible exposure to our camp community. Campers will need to stay at camp once they are here, and we will not be able to accommodate any mid-camp travel this year. We are also asking for all campers to arrive on Opening Day (not at a later date). During the session, girls will enjoy our usual trips to our other camp properties for activities such as Riding, Hiking, and (now!) Tubing, but we will not take any out-of-camp trips to public locations (for activities such as Rafting).

On their days off, vaccinated staff will be allowed to go into town for very limited activities (i.e. hiking, picking up take-out food, etc.), but otherwise, staff will stay on camp property during the session.

We have a group of local staff that work tirelessly during the summer to ensure camp “runs” smoothly (like our office, maintenance, housekeeping, and program specialists). These adults will monitor their health and will be screened regularly when arriving for work. All of these workers will stay physically distanced from our camp community and wear a mask if interacting with our campers or summer staff.

Testing and Vaccinations

Testing will also be used as a layer of protection for our community. You can read more about our testing plan for the summer on our COVID Testing information page. We are encouraging all of our staff to get vaccinated before the summer, and you can read more about the high percentage of staff who are already vaccinated on our Staff Policies page.

Health Monitoring and Screening:

We will be monitoring the health of our campers in three different ways this summer:

Pre-camp: Before your daughter’s session, each camper will need to complete a daily Health Screening Log with temperature checks and symptom monitoring. Each camper will also need to come to camp with a negative molecular (PCR) COVID test or a copy of her vaccintation card. You can read more about our pre-camp screening on our Pre-Camp Health Screening information page.

Opening Day: On Opening Day, we will check your daughter’s temperature, ask her a few health screening questions, and review her Health Log. You can read more about this screening process on our Opening Day information page.

During the summer: We will conduct daily health screenings on campers and staff throughout the session. Your daughter’s counselors will conduct temperature and symptom checks on each of the campers twice a day. This will aid in keeping our campers healthy and will help us to identify any concerns (COVID or otherwise!) early. If a counselor is concerned about a camper’s health in any way, that camper will be evaluated by our nurses and Health Staff, much like any other summer. As of now, we will also be testing our campers at June, Main, and August sessions with a PCR saliva test on day 5 of the session. You can read more about how we will handle any COVID health concerns on our COVID Health information page.

Cleaning

Each summer, we clean cabins and public spaces regularly, bringing in a professional cleaning crew (on top of our in-house housekeeping crew) to deep clean specific spaces. This year we are intensifying our cleaning processes in all areas.

This summer, all public bathrooms will be professionally cleaned twice a day by a professional cleaning service, and all program facilities will be professionally cleaned once a day by this same professional cleaning service. Any facilities that see high camper traffic throughout the day, will be treated with an electrostatic sanitizing treatment multiple times during the day.

Our professional cleaning crew will clean all camper cabin bathrooms regularly, and cabin counselors will sanitize cabin bathrooms twice a day. Both groups will focus on door handles, light switches, countertops, toilets, showers, faucets, sinks, and more.

If there is a presumed or confirmed COVID case in the cabin, we will follow enhanced cleaning protocols that you can read about on our Presumed or Positive Campers page.

In our activity areas, we will be following all recommendations for surface cleaning that are recommended by the CDC and the ACA (American Camp Association). With any of our activities that use shared equipment, the equipment will be sanitized between each class. All public bathroom spaces will be cleaned between each of our classes as well.

Water Bottle Washing

We will have a system to wash camper water bottles through our industrial dishwashing machines in our Kitchen. Girls will have the opportunity to wash their water bottles on a regular basis this year! If you do not want your daughter’s water bottle to go through a dishwasher-type machine, you may want to consider sending a different type of water bottle this summer, or bringing a small sponge or bottle brush for your daughter to use to clean her own water bottle in the cabin.

Wondering how to explain this to your camper? Hear from one of our Directors!