MYC HEALTH POLICY: In order to provide a safe and healthy environment for our children to grow and play, we ask that parents/guardians work with us by adhering to our health guidelines.
Guidelines for Keeping Home a Sick Participant:
In order to protect the health of your child and other members and staff, children who are ill should remain at home. To determine when to allow a child back to our program after an illness, please follow these Department of Public Health guidelines:
- A child should be fever-free for 24 hours. A child’s temperature is lowest in the morning, so a low temperature on awakening is not a true indicator. If you have given your child Tylenol or Motrin at night, the medication could still be affecting your child’s temperature. A child should be fever-free without the assistance of medication for 24 hours before returning to MYC programming.
- A child should be free of vomiting/diarrhea for 24 hours before returning to camp. A child who has been ill during the night may feel slightly better in the morning and even ask to go to camp. However, the child will likely experience symptoms of illness later, will also be tired from loss of sleep, and will still be contagious to other children.
- A child with thick or constant nasal discharge should remain home. Very few younger children can effectively blow their noses and wash their hands afterwards. A child with the above symptoms will quickly spread the illness to other children.
- A child diagnosed with strep throat/scarlet fever should remain home for the first 24 hours of antibiotic treatment. A child remains contagious until he/she has been on antibiotics for 24 hours.
- A child diagnosed with conjunctivitis may attend camp after 24 hours of treatment. There should also be no drainage from the eyes.
- The 24-Hour Rule:
- A child should stay home for at least 24 hours to rest if the following symptoms are present the morning of camp or the previous night:
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- Vomiting and/or diarrhea
- Fever >100 degrees
- Itchy or reddened eyes with drainage
- An unusual rash
- A poor night’s sleep due to illness, cough, etc.
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- A child should stay home for at least 24 hours to rest if the following symptoms are present the morning of camp or the previous night:
First Aid, Illness and Injuries:
- Assessment and treatment are provided for minor injuries or illnesses during the day.
- If a member becomes ill or is seriously injured, his/her parent or guardian is notified immediately.
- If a parent cannot be reached in an emergency, the student will be transported to the appropriate medical facility.
- Additional guidelines for Summer Camp:
- All children must be immunized according to the requirements of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health and have an updated physical exam including immunizations signed by a physician before attending summer camp (not necessary for after school program).
- The Health Care supervisors and/or nurse consultant will dismiss any child who is too ill to be in camp, requires further assessment or treatment for an illness or injury, or is considered to be contagious or susceptible to disease.
- If your child has an injury that limits his/her activity, please inform the camp director and camp health care consultant and/or supervisor.
- Send in a physician’s note when it is safe for your child to resume normal activity.
Summer Camp Medication Administration:
The following is an overview of the medication policies that are in place to ensure the health and safety of campers that may need to take medications at camp. These forms must be on file with the Health Care Consultant and in the MYC Administrative office before medication can be administered at camp:
- Signed Medication Order – A written order from a licensed provider is required for prescription and over-the-counter medications.
- Signed Medication Authorization – Authorization must be completed and signed by parent/guardian for all medications.
- Medication Plan – Plan to meet with the camp Health Care Consultant and/or Health Care Supervisor when you drop off medication for the first time to complete paperwork and ask questions.
Summer Camp General Information:
- Medication is to be delivered to the camp health care consultant and/or supervisor by parent.
- Medication must be in a pharmacy or manufacturer’s labeled container.
- Self-medication is prohibited. This policy will be strictly enforced.
- Please note that medication will be destroyed if it is not picked up at the close of camp.
Respiratory Virus Guidelines:
On March 25, 2024, we were informed that Massachusetts Department of Public Health recently updated their guidance:
Staying home to prevent the spread of respiratory viruses | Mass.gov
This guidance aligns with recent CDC updated recommendations for respiratory viruses, including COVID-19 which were released on March 1, 2024.
This guidance is for respiratory viruses like Influenza, RSV, and Covid-19 as they share similar transmission methods, symptoms, and prevention strategies. This unified approach aims to simplify recommendations and address common risks more effectively.
The CDC and MASS.GOV guidance for respiratory virus:
Protect yourself and others from getting sick | Mass.gov
Get vaccinated
| Flu | COVID-19 | RSV |
| Everyone 6 months & older should receive a yearly flu vaccine. | Everyone 6 months & older should receive an updated COVID-19 vaccine. | Everyone 60 years old and over should consider an RSV vaccine and monoclonal antibody products are available to protect infants and young children from severe RSV. |
Get vaccinated against flu, COVID-19, and RSV (if eligible) to help prevent illness and severe disease. Stay up to date with recommended doses for the best protection.
Visit vaccine information for the general public to learn about all vaccine recommendations for adults and youth and to get answers to common questions.
Wash your hands
Keeping your hands clean is the best way to get rid of germs and stop the spread of germs to others. You can get germs on your hands by simply touching a doorknob, pressing an elevator button, grabbing a pole on public transit, or shaking hands. Once these germs are on your hands, touching your mouth or nose to eat, sneeze, or cough or touching your eyes can make you sick.
Wash your hands often with soap and warm water. If soap and water are not available, use hand sanitizer containing at least 60% alcohol.
Cover your cough or sneeze
Cover your mouth when you cough or sneeze. Use a tissue or your inner elbow, not your hands.
Get tested
Learn to recognize signs and symptoms of respiratory illnesses like flu, COVID-19, and RSV. If you have those symptoms, get tested.
Find a test near you:
- Testing for flu, COVID-19, and other respiratory illnesses is widely available at doctors’ offices, pharmacies, or health clinics in your community
- You can also find information about free and low-cost COVID testing
- At-home tests for COVID-19 are available to purchase in store or online; check with your insurance carrier to find out if reimbursement is available
- If your first COVID-19 test is negative, check with your healthcare provider to see if they want to test you for something else. This is especially important if you have health conditions that may put you at higher risk of severe infections. If you don’t get an alternative diagnosis and you still have symptoms, be sure to test for COVID-19 again after a day or two.
- If you still have at-home test kits, you can check if their expiration date has been extended through FDA
HOW HAS ISOLATION GUIDANCE CHANGED?
The updated Respiratory Virus Guidance recommends that people stay home and away from others until at least 24 hours after both their symptoms are getting better overall, and they have not had a fever (and are not using fever-reducing medication). Note that depending on the length of symptoms, this period could be shorter, the same, or longer than the previous guidance for COVID-19.
It is important to note that the guidance doesn’t end with staying home and away from others when sick. The guidance encourages added precaution over the next five days after time at home, away from others, is over. Since some people remain contagious beyond the “stay-at-home” period, a period of added precaution using prevention strategies, such as taking more steps for cleaner air, enhancing hygiene practices, wearing a well-fitting mask, keeping a distance from others, and/or getting tested for respiratory viruses can lower the chance of spreading respiratory viruses to others.
We considered multiple options for adjusting isolation guidance at different lengths of time. In addition to fewer people getting seriously ill from COVID-19 and having better tools to fight serious illness, CDC considered other factors such as the personal and societal costs of extended isolation as well as the timing of when people are most likely to spread the virus (a few days before and after symptoms appear). The updated guidance is easy-to-understand, practical, and evidence-based, as well as more aligned with long-standing recommendations for other respiratory illnesses.
In addition to CDC’s Respiratory Virus Guidance, there are several special considerations for people with certain risk factors for severe illness, including older adults, young children, people with weakened immune systems, people with disabilities, and pregnant people.
USDA Non-Discrimination Statement:
In accordance with Federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, the USDA, its Agencies, offices, and employees, and institutions participating in or administering USDA programs are prohibited from discriminating based on race, color, national origin, sex, disability, age, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity in any program or activity conducted or funded by USDA.
Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication for program information (e.g. Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language, etc.), should contact the Agency (State or local) where they applied for benefits. Individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing or have speech disabilities may contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339. Additionally, program information may be made available in languages other than English.
To file a program complaint of discrimination, complete the USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form, (AD-3027) found online at: http://www.ascr.usda.gov/complaint_filing_cust.html, and at any USDA office, or write a letter addressed to USDA and provide in the letter all the information requested in the form. To request a copy of the complaint form, call (866) 632-9992. Submit your completed form or letter to USDA by:
(1) mail:
U.S. Department of Agriculture
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights
1400 Independence Avenue, SW
Washington, D.C. 20250-9410;
(2) fax:
(202) 690-7442; or
(3) email:
This institution is an equal opportunity provider.