by Rabbi Paul Kipnes
(Originally posted at Or Am I?)

D'var Acher (Alternate Title): Porky Pig, Superman and Other Comics translation: swine flu, super staff and the theater of the absurd

D'var Acher (Alternate Title): "I Know it is 1:00 am, and I'm Sorry to Wake You, but..."

Team Crisis Management: Just before midnight on Wednesday, June 17, 2009, my wife Michelle November and I joined the URJ Camp Newman-Swig's Team Crisis Management as the Santa Rosa, CA camp responded to two cases of Influenza A (presumed to be H1N1 - swine flu) and another dozen cases of the regular flu. This was NOT how we expected our time at camp to be.

Background: At Camp Newman-Swig this summer, I serve as Faculty Dean, while Michelle, an MSW by training and currently the Associate Director of Admissions at Los Angeles' New Community Jewish High School, serves as a member of the Nefesh Team ("nefesh" = soul = the camp's psychosocial support team).

Our family arrived at Camp Newman-Swig at about 5:30 pm and enjoyed the traditional pre-camp faculty dinner out at Dafna's Greek. A fabulous faculty meeting followed where Associate Camp Director Phil Hankin and Camp Education Director Sara Mason-Barkin rolled out many exciting camp initiatives.

Not ten minutes after the meeting let out, the faculty was called back into session and informed that camp, facing a number of staff with flu-like symptoms, had determined that we were facing two cases of presumed H1N1, swine flu. With a decision immanent to postpone the arrival of the younger campers (11th grade Avodah, 12th grade CIT and the Staff were already at camp), we were being drafted into Team Crisis Management and asked to call all camper parents tonight to inform them of the decision.

By 10:15 pm, a calling script was being written, call lists divided up (rabbis/educators began by calling our own congregants), and, with Michelle's guidance, a list of responses to anticipated questions was being developed ("When will camp invite the younger campers up? Still too early to say").

Calling Parents: By 11:00 pm, we were spread out all over camp, manning phones, sharing the calm but clear message:

Dear Parent,

We are in the process of calling all of our camper parents with the important announcement...

In the last 48 hours a number of our staff members have come into the infirmary not feeling well, some with fever. In order to be very cautious and responsible, we tested some of our staff and the results came back positive for Influenza A. Our county public health department has informed us that this is mostly likely the H1N1 virus - swine flu. Therefore after consulting with medical professionals and the leadership of the Union for Reform Judaism we have determined that is wise to delay the opening camp and to demonstrate an abundance of caution. While we know that this will be tremendously inconvenient, we take our responsibility for the health and safety of children entrusted to our care as our foremost priority.

We will be in touch again by email late Thursday evening with an update. We hope by then to be able to make a determination as to when the session will begin. Again we are very sorry for calling so late and we certainly understand that our campers will be disappointed.

Thank you for your understanding and support. (Email addresses were provided for those with questions.)

From 11:00 pm until 2:00 am, Michelle and I joined a dozen other faculty members, waking parents and sharing the news. It was a fascinating and overwhelming experience. Fascinating because here we were, telling parents that their child's camp experience and long planned family plans were being changed, yet with the exception of a handful, each parent was appreciative and complimentary about our proactive decision. Overwhelming, because a good many offered to help in a multiplicity of ways. Even better, of 200+ campers, only one (one!) camper showed up for camp. In just 3 short hours, these smooth crisis response efforts successfully reached the entire camper population!

Though we were dragging by 2:00 am, we were reassured by the experience of being part of a Jewish community dedicated to emet (truth/honesty), chochma (wisdom/wise decisions), and responsiveness. Just before we passed out in our bed, Michelle and I chatted about how impressed we were with the quick, patient leadership of Director Ruben Arquilevich, Associate Director Phil Hankin, Directors Ari Vared and Aliyah Shulkin, Administrative Staff Tracey Klapow, Christine Reiter and Dena Kaufman, and Camp Doctor Greg Hirsch (and the incredible Medical Staff. They had consulted with the top notch camp doctors, coordinated with the local and state Departments of Public Health, conferenced by senior URJ leaders in New York (waking them as the concern mounted), and made appropriately conservative decisions that were in the best interests of the staff/CITs/Avodahniks currently in camp, and those campers who will come up in the future.

Those staff who are sick have been segregated (isolated/quarantined is the medical term), and many of those who had flu symptoms are currently on the mend. As the flu has an incubation peried of about 7 days, the camp is being proactively responsible in waiting to see if the flu will spread. Our daughter is hanging with her CIT (counselor in training) friends, observing the camp separation between CITs/Avodahniks and the staff (the latter who were together during the incubation period).

After a few hours sleep (I woke at 7:30 am Wednesday), we gathered down in the Chadar Ochel (dining room) to evaluate and begin the process of deciding next steps. Communication with the national URJ office, with the Health Department, with our medical staff, with the region's rabbis/cantors/educators and with parents continues on the highest, most open level.

How are we Kipnes/Novembers? Understand that our Kipnes/November family is healthy and safe, as are the vast, vast majority of the camp community. Our daughter is enjoying her CIT experience, which, though proceeding without campers, is filled with fun, learning and Jewish spiritual growth. And though we told our two sons to wash hands regularly, to eat at tables away from the rest of the staff, and to refrain from hugging anyone (a challenge in the loving camp community), they are enjoying the run of the camp with only minimal supervision.

Reflections on our Camp Newman-Swig Leadership: You take the measure of an institution, and the measure of a man, by the way they respond in the most challenging of situations. While I highly value the way camp instills a love of Judaism and builds self-esteem, first and foremost I want to be convinced that Camp is a safe place for my children.

That's why these past few days have made me an even bigger fan of the URJ, its Camp Newman-Swig in Santa Rosa, CA, and of the camp leadership (from Senior Director Ruben Arquilevich and continuing through their entire staff).

Their actions - postponing the arrival of the younger kids, isolating those staff members exhibiting flu-like symptoms, and separating staff from the CITs/Avodahniks who arrived at camp later - were rightly prudent, responsible, consultative, caring, and tireless.

So on Thursday afternoon, I sent the following email to the senior camp Newman-Swig's leadership. I wanted to share the appreciation and comfort Michelle and I (and the other faculty/staff families gathered at camp) feel about the actions, transparency and compassion of Camp Newman-Swig's leadership:

Dear Directors, Gezah team, senior administrators, medical team, office staff (and other Camp Newman-Swig leadership),

Being up here on faculty allows me to be both a participant and an observer of the goings on at camp. I have witnessed so much that amazes me.

I see so many caring people - you! - rising up to act in ways that evidence the depth of your compassion and the fullest of your ability to care for others,

I see so many courageous people - you! - who are facing so many unknowns, so much not in your control, yet are moving forward thoughtfully to manage the camp and care for the staff, CITs and Avodahniks who are here,

I see so many tireless people - you! - who are working endless hours, moving thru the moments of exhaustion to plan and respond,

I see people - you! - who evidence bikur cholim, our cherished Jewish value of caring for the infirmed, as you take care of those few who have the flu, those who are well on the way to recovery, and each other (ensuring that you do not burn out),

I see so many people - yes, you! - with endless patience, who are calmly answering questions, sharing information, exhibiting the quiet reassurance that lets the rest of us move thru our days without worry.

Thank you for taking such good care of all of us at camp, for working endless hours to address that which is beyond our control and for making sure that wisdom and caution prevails amidst the pressures of opening camp.

My whole family - a CIT, 2 soon to be (teenage) campers, and 2 adults - is up at camp right now. We feel safe, cared for, informed.

I am so proud to be part of this amazing community. Thank you for all you are doing.

Need I say more? There are 270+ of us still up here at Camp Newman-Swig, and we look forward to the eventual arrival of the younger campers.Read more updates on my blog Or Am I? or on Rabbi Rick Winer's Divrei Derech.

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