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Camp Directors Breathe a Sigh of Relief as ‘Chapter Amendment’ Passes Legislature

Camp Directors Breathe a Sigh of Relief as ‘Chapter Amendment’ Passes Legislature


By: Boropark24 staff

Tuesday afternoon, an amendment passed the New York State Senate, which brought a month-long saga—which would have greatly affected our summer camps—to a positive conclusion.

The story began with a bill—lobbied and supported by the New York State Camp Directors Association (NYSCDA)—to allow mental health professionals to work in camps, away from the mental health facility, which was previously not permitted. They would be working under the auspices of the camp’s health director.

But, as is often the case with the legislative process, the effort to rectify a problem in one area, results in even bigger problems in different area.

“As the bill was about to go to a vote,” relates Reb Yoel Rosenfeld, director of Camp Gila, “we noticed a last-minute addition to the text of the bill. It would require that the camp’s health director be a licensed MD, PA, or Nurse Practitioner. This is not only an impossibility for some of the smaller camps, financially or logistically—there are not enough such professionals to go around for the hundreds of camps.”

Rosenfeld brought the matter to the attention of Assemblyman Simcha Eichenstein who worked with other lawmakers to craft a “chapter amendment” enabling an EMT to serve as health director. The amendment passed the assembly last week, and the senate on Tuesday afternoon. Governor Hochul is expected to sign it into law in the coming days, bringing this episode to a satisfactory conclusion.

“This provision in the bill—which is currently the law—would have resulted in tremendous challenges for us, and we are thankful to the assembly members—led by Simcha Eichenstein— who moved quickly to rectify the matter, and ensure a safe and happy summer 2022 for thousands of boys and girls in the mountains,” said Rabbi Rosenfeld.


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