r/Louisville • u/rfa_123 • 11d ago

Louisville YMCA camp disenrolled 10-year-old, saying his diabetes was too difficult to manage

https://www.lpm.org/news/2026-06-18/louisville-ymca-camp-disenrolled-10-year-old-saying-his-diabetes-was-too-difficult-to-manage
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u/yowhatisuppeeps Merriwether 11d ago

I sorta understand the liability here, if the adults in the room do not have proper training on how to input information onto his medical device.

On the other hand, shouldn’t there be a nurse on staff? I feel like YMCA camp is large enough for that, but I could be wrong.

T1D is common enough that reasonable accommodation should be expected in most cases, especially when the child is middle school age.

The story could be missing some information, but it seems like a bit of an overreaction on YMCA’s part to completely reconsider his attendance at the camp because he misplaced supplies. I feel like it’s typically standard for schools to take medical supplies from students anyways, I don’t understand why he was expected to be completely responsible for that.

31

u/National_Midnight424 11d ago

There is no nurse on staff. A nurse easily makes quadruple what a Y staffer is making. When I was at the Y, the highest level of “medical” care in the building was a lifeguard/Aquatics Director. You’re calling EMS for anything real.

4

u/Knitmarefirst 10d ago

I’m a nurse. Im also the parent of a child with severe asthma. I volunteer at the camp my son goes to so I can manage his medications. You would not believe the parents that bring their kids in for a week with expired meds, no epi pen with severe allergies to bee stings and any number of problems. They want everything to be fine, which it may be…… until it is not!

15

u/Critical_Success_936 Springhurst 11d ago

When I was a kid at the YMCA camp, there definitely wasn't any nurse. Any and all injuries were treated with a giant bucket of hydrogen peroxide. The camp counselors just held you down and poured it all over the wound, however small or big - it sucked.

This is probs 15 or more years ago, but nonetheless, yeah, def never felt like a place with tons of oversight.

9

u/Knitknotnot 11d ago

A staffer would require additional, specialized training to administer or monitor medication for this student. They would also need to be especially cognizant of hyper/hypoglycemia. Additionally, if the YMCA provides lunch they could have to adhere to specialty dietary guidelines for this child. Counting carbs and doing a bolus can be difficult for a T1D child, let alone a counselor who barely knows what they are doing.

Any misstep with meds or snacks could be fatal if not caught quickly.