Weeklong residential camp in its 17th year
CARIBOU, Maine — Cary Medical Center’s Camp Adventure, a summer camp for children with type 1 diabetes, has received the Maine Public Health Association’s ‘Program of Excellence Award’ for 2015. Tina Harnett Pettingill, executive director of MPHA, made the announcement at the MPHA Annual Conference in Augusta.
“After careful consideration of many wonderful applicants, Camp Adventure has been selected to receive the Maine Public Health Association’s Public Health Program of Excellence Award. Congratulations on the hard work and accomplishments that have brought you to this point,” Pettingill said. “We’re excited to honor Camp Adventure with this award.”
Erica Ouellette, RN and certified diabetes educator at Cary, who co-directs the camp with Ann Gahagan, FNP-C, CDE, BC-ADM, accepted the award and made brief remarks during the ceremony.
Ouellette, who has type 1 diabetes, said she was honored to receive the award on behalf of all the staff who volunteer to manage Camp Adventure.
“It takes a lot of people, including professional staff and other volunteers, to manage this camp. It is really our volunteers who make camp possible,” said Ouellette, who participated the first year it launched and later became a counselor. “We are so grateful to everyone who works with us to make the camp available to so many children every year. I know they will be excited to learn about this recognition and we thank the Maine Public Health Association for this honor.”
Now in its 17th year, the weeklong residential camp is an experience for children ages 12-17 with type 1 diabetes. Held in Aroostook County, the event engages the children in a variety of recreational activity including kayaking, canoeing, hiking, mountain biking, water skiing and more. This type of activity can be challenging for children with Type 1 diabetes due to insulin and blood sugar management. By working with camp staff the children learn how to adjust their insulin based on their level of activity.
Children from throughout Maine attend, and the camp has worked with hundreds of children during the past 17 years. Ouellette said children only have one complaint about the camp: “They wish it would last longer.”
For more information on Camp Adventure, contact Cary’s diabetes program at 498-1283.
