Nationally 11 million children attend summer camps yearly. Disaster planning is especially necessary in summer camp settings because children are particularly vulnerable to multiple casualties in the event a disaster occurs. Children are physiologically more susceptible than adults to adverse effects of chemical or biological exposures. They are also limited developmentally in their ability to escape or protect themselves. As a result, camps may be primary targets in shootings or terrorist attacks because of their dense number of children in a small area combined with their inability to escape from harm. Pediatric specific vulnerabilities are increasingly apparent through recent events such as Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Sandy, and the school shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary. Media publicity has led to a growing national awareness of the importance of pediatric disaster preparedness and its current shortcomings. According to a national 2014 report, Michigan was one of two states nationally with the worst ranking for disaster preparedness among schools and child care centers. Because primary and secondary school disaster preparedness has been the focus of the majority of prior studies, the degree of disaster preparedness and training needs among Michigan’s summer camp settings is completely unknown. Major barriers to camp disaster preparedness research in Michigan have been the lack of access to summer camp leadership and unavailability of a uniform electronic record and database system among summer camps.
Authors: Megan T. Chang, M.D.1, Alan M. Sielaff, M.D.2, Stuart A. Bradin, M.D.1,2, Michael J. Ambrose, M.D.3, Andrew N. Hashikawa, M.D.1,2
1Department of Pediatrics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI; 2Children’s Emergency Services, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI; 3St. Joseph Mercy Health System, Ann Arbor, MI