Medication Policy for Youth Events

All Youth Con attendees (both youth and adult) are responsible for bringing, keeping track of, and taking any medication(s) they will need over the course of a conference or training weekend. This includes any prescription medication and nonprescription drugs like painkillers and/or allergy medication.

All medications (with the exception of: inhalers, epi-pens, birth control pills and insulin) are to be ‘turned-in’ upon arrival at the Con and will be kept in a locked location for the duration of the Con, to be accessed on an as needed basis. This measure is to ensure that no medications are lost, stolen or shared among participants and to ensure that all youth are able to take their medications on the schedule they were prescribed.

At no time, are medications to be shared among participants while at the Con (including non-prescription medications).

Any medical needs that might arise while at the Con should be directed to the Con’s First Aider or the Lead Adult.

• If a youth needs to take any non-prescription medication (ie – acetaminophen, ibuprofen, Benadryl, Pepto-Bismol, etc) for headaches, menstrual cramps, or other minor ailments, etc – after a call to their parents/guardians, these medications can be dispensed by the Con’s First Aider or Lead Adult.
  • If the medication that the youth normally takes is not at the Con, a youth advisor can leave the Con briefly to purchase some.

All youth bringing any medication to the Con should have noted this with their medical information on their registration form, and include any information about the schedule on which they need to take their meds . (Adults brining medications to a Con do not need to provide information about them but are asked to ‘turn-in’ their medications as well so that they cannot be lost or stolen either).

*If a youth thinks they will need help remembering to take their medication on time, they are responsible for discussing this with their parents and advisor before coming to the Con, so they can come up with a plan for how they will stay on their meds schedule.

Procedures:

• the best place to lock up the medications at the Con will need to be determined by the Con’s leadership team
  • an ideal place would be a room that does not need to be accessed for any other reason, ie) an staff members off or a storage room
• since Con participants will need to access their medications at various times throughout the day it’s important that someone is available to access the location where the medications are kept at all times
  • since many medications need to be taken at set times (often in the morning and in the evening) establishing a schedule of when the ‘meds room’ will be unlocked is a good idea (this can be explained during the Con’s orientation on the First night)
    • at breakfast and right after evening worship are two good times