Frontier Ranch Flu Update
Updated August 2 - 5:30pm
As of today, both summer staff guys have been released from isolation and have returned to their summer staff jobs. There are no new reported cases of Influenza A today from current summer staff/work crew/assigned team or new incoming campers/leaders.
Updated August 1 – 2:00 p.m.
As of yesterday (Friday, July 31, 2009) two summer staff guys were confirmed to have Influenza A. They have been isolated and will remain isolated through this evening. They are feeling better and are currently symptom free. 17 of the male summer staff have been put on Tami Flu as a precaution. At this time we have not had any other reported cases.
Updated July 27, 2009
Camp remains flu free for a second full day and we will only be posting updates when this status changes.
Updated July 26, 2009
As of late Saturday, the few folks in isolation had been cleared and released. We are happy to welcome new campers and leaders to Frontier today for the best week of their lives!
Updated July 25, 2009
Total cases of campers or leaders with flu-like symptoms remained at around 15, including three work crew. We are eager to greet new campers tomorrow, and we remain confident in procedures in place to ensure a safe and fun week for all.
Updated July 24, 2009
As of 3:00 p.m. we have one confirmed case of Influenza A with 7 campers in isolation and 6 in observation. As an added precaution, all campers and leaders were screened for symptoms today.
Updated July 10, 2009 - 5:00 p.m.
As of Friday afternoon July 10 we have had almost two full weeks without any cases of flu among campers or leaders, and more than one full week without any cases at all. In light of this great news, we will only be posting updates when this status changes.
Updated July 9, 2009 – 3:00 p.m.
Another day with no new developments to report!
Updated July 8, 2009 – 3:00 p.m.
We are happy to report that the infirmary is empty and camp is full!
Updated July 7, 2009 - 4:30 p.m.
Camp is underway, with only one work crew person under observation and in isolation. We remain diligent in watching for symptoms and confident that we’ll have a great week 7 at Frontier Ranch.
Updated July 6, 2009 - 4:30 p.m.
We have no new developments to report today.
Updated July 5, 2009 - 7:00 p.m.
Today we have no new developments to report. New campers have been rolling in to Frontier and we’re excited for another great week!
Updated July 4, 2009 - 5:00 p.m.
This morning the Frontier nurse saw seven campers with cold like symptoms but they were released and are heading home with all the other campers. All work crew, summer staff, camp staff and assignment team staff are healthy and excited to welcome a new week of campers who will start arriving Sunday afternoon at 2:00. Have a happy July 4th !
Updated July 3, 2009 - 5:30 p.m.
As of Friday afternoon, no one is in isolation! All work crew and summer staff have been released from the infirmary, and the one intern under observation yesterday had strep throat, not the flu. It has been a great week at Frontier and we’re looking to finish this week strong and prepare for all the new groups coming in Sunday!
Updated July 2, 2009 - 5:00 p.m.
As of Thursday afternoon, there are still no reported cases of flu among the campers or leaders. All but four of the work crew who had the flu are without symptoms and have been released from the infirmary, and there have been no new reported cases among the work crew or summer staff for at least 48 hours. There is one summer intern who is under observation for the flu. Today was our mountain climb – another great day at Frontier Ranch!
Updated July 1, 2009 – 4:30 p.m.
As of Wednesday afternoon, Frontier hasn’t seen any new flu cases for the last 36 hours. And we have had no cases of flu among campers and leaders! Most of the cases we have seen this week were among work crew, and in fact most of the work crew have shown no symptoms. Almost all camp staff, summer staff, assigned team and work crew are on Tamiflu as a preventative measure. So this is all good news. But we’re also feeling at this point that even if we do have additional cases, we’ve learned a lot about how to respond in order to keep kids safe and camp running smoothly.
Updated: June 30, 2009 - 6:00 p.m.
We have no new developments to report today. A good day at Frontier Ranch!
Updated: June 29, 2009 – 6:00 p.m.
Week six is underway with groups from Texas and Colorado in camp! We’ve learned in the last two weeks to be flexible, always keeping in mind our goal of keeping all campers healthy and ensuring that each will have a fantastic week. We feel that we’ve done everything possible to realize those goals. We have a smaller camp this week, which gives us some much needed breathing room. We also have a creative solution to dealing with the fact that we have some work crew with the flu: we decided before new campers arrived that we would run week six with zero contact between work crew and campers/leaders. This means, among other things, that meals are being served buffet style. It’s not ideal, since the great service our work crew provide is part of what Young Life camp is all about. But it’s the wisest course of action. Local health department officials continue to affirm our efforts (including having all campers and leaders screened before they left for camp).
Updated: June 28, 2009 – 5:00 p.m.
Week six at Frontier is underway! As noted previously, we have a few work crew with symptoms who are being isolated, treated and released as they recover (and are no longer considered contagious). With a thoroughly sterilized camp and extra precautions in place (plus the fact that all new campers were screened for flu before leaving for camp) we’re ready for a great week at Frontier Ranch!
Updated: June 27, 2009 – 5:00 p.m.
With the camp thoroughly cleaned, we are now preparing for new campers to arrive in less than 24 hours. We have five work crew kids with flu symptoms in isolation. Our experience with the cases we have seen is consistent with what health professionals have reported: severity and duration of symptoms of this flu tend to be mild. We continue to monitor everyone in camp and are taking every precaution ensure a safe, fun week for our week six groups!
Updated: June 26, 2009 – 5:00 p.m.
As of noon today all campers and leaders with no flu symptoms left for home. Those with flu symptoms remain in isolation (and under the very good care of our doctor and nurse) as they wait for transportation home. This has been a busy day of cleaning all buildings; extensive washing of towels and bedding and sanitation of door knobs, flat surfaces, railings, etc. With the camp cleaned, all work crew, summer staff, assigned team are expected to rest up as we await a new group on Sunday. Currently one work crew is in isolation; all others being monitored for symptoms.
Updated: June 25, 2009 – 5:00 p.m.
Unfortunately, both precautionary measures as well as rapid response have failed to prevent the spread of flu at Frontier Ranch during the current week (June 21-27). Our first case of flu at camp this week was, according to our local epidemiologist, “imported.” That is, the camper brought the flu to camp. However, we now have at least one infected camper or leader from most of the areas represented here this week. This leads us to assume that exposure to the flu is extensive and that we will see more cases in the coming days. We have therefore decided to end the camp week early; groups will depart camp as soon as can be arranged; most will have left camp by mid-day Friday. Preparations will begin immediately and continue for the next three days to clean and prepare camp for our next group of campers (who will all have been screened for flu-like symptoms prior to leaving for camp). We believe that these additional steps will reduce the risk of flu at Frontier Ranch.
Updated: June 24, 2009 – 11:30 a.m.
We have had one confirmed case of Type A Influenza (with at least one additional camper with flu-like symptoms), which local Colorado Department of Health officials are treating as H1N1 or Swine Flu (test results are pending).
Camp staff, working closely with local health department officials, immediately isolated the infected individual as well other campers and leaders from the same group who had shared transportation or lodging with the infected camper. At the recommendation of the health department, this group has now left camp for home. This is a precautionary step intended to minimize the chances that others at Frontier will be exposed to the flu.
Camp staff are of course very disappointed to have a group of campers leave early; we hope we can get them back to Frontier or another Young Life camp either this summer or next!
Additional steps being taken to ensure a healthy, fun camp experience for everyone include sanitizing all surfaces that could carry the flu virus, monitoring remaining campers and leaders, and isolating, testing and treating individuals when flu-like symptoms are evident.