JACKSON’S MILL, W.Va. — For 25 years now, kids living with asthma across the state have been able to get the full summer camp experience while also learning how to handle their condition.
Camp Catch Your Breath is a week-long alternative for kids who would other wise get turned away.
“If they sign up for other camps and people look at the medications they have, the conditions they’ve had, the hospital that may be have been in their history, the first thing they’re going to say is, ‘We don’t have this type of care for your child,'” Sonny Hoskinson, Camp Director said. “That’s where our niche is. We fit in there and we try to make this a true camp experience.”
The camp schedule resembles that of most summer camps, with six groups rotating through different “block activities,” two of which are designed to educate campers about asthma.
The classes try to break out of a school setting and keep it fun. For example, in the first education class that deals with the pathophysiology of asthma –the psychological effects associated with the condition– campers make a physical representation of their experiences in the form of a totem, used to tell their story.
“The second education class is a little more hands on, a little more visual,” Hoskinson said. “For instance, they’ve got pig lungs in there and they’ve got a pig lung that has been exposed to smoke for ten years as opposed to a healthy lung. They can see that, they can touch it, they inflate those.”
The other blocks include all the fun activities one would associate with summer camp, such as games, arts and craft and snacks –which is used to help educate kids about diets that coincide with an asthma-conscious lifestyle.
While the camp is designed for the children, it has also taken parents into account as well, allowing them to send their kids to experience summer camp knowing the staff will be capable of any health issues that may arise.
“My people here, we have the medical supplies, we can do anything really an emergency room can do here,” Hoskinson said. “We have a doctor that’s here 24/7, we have nurses, respiratory therapists, pharmacists, we have all the medical professionals here that can handle those situations and that is our staff.”
After being involved with the organization for 23 years –21 as director– Hoskinson sees a future for the camp, especially with recent support coming in.
“We’ve grown. Now we’re up, we can handle up to 70 children,” he said. “We’re hoping to continue to increase that. We’ve just recently had The Health Plan come on as a major financial sponsor. When insurance companies getting involved and seeing results from that, it’s a good thing for me to see.”
The camp came to a conclusion on Friday, but preparations for next summer are already in the works.
More information about Camp Catch Your Breath can be found by contacting Hoskinson at his day job as Assistant Director of Pharmacy at United Hospital Center by calling 681-342-1560.