MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. — Montgomery County Recreation will no longer be providing their modified summer camp program after being unable to secure the required amount of nursing staff to open to the public, program officials said Friday.
The recreation department was unable to secure the necessary amount of nurses as more health care providers in the community were called for other vital services, a July 17 press release from the county said.
"Montgomery County Recreation has worked tirelessly to prepare, plan and deliver a modified summer camp program," Montgomery County Recreation Director Robin Riley said. “We regret that we were unable to meet the requirements to open our programs. However, as MoCo Rec staff does so well, we are quickly transitioning, and we are looking into providing alternative programs and activities to the Montgomery County community in the near future."
Outdoor and indoor youth camps in the county are currently in Phase 2 of reopening, which doesn't lay out a clear guideline on mandatory nursing providers for camps to restart.
However, it was a requirement from the labor organization that represents Montgomery County Recreation employees for the camp, said Carmen Berrios Martinez, the public information officer for Montgomery County Recreation.
If the county wanted to reopen camps with the needed staff, they would need to have a certain amount of nurses present, which they were unable to fill in the required time period.
Summer camps hosted by the county were expected to return to limited facilities on July 20, Riley announced in a July committee meeting. The camps would have been outdoors only to make room for social distancing, with programs ranging from three to five hours long.
On May 13, the county announced they would be postponing summer camp options due to the pandemic and said that customer pre-payments would be refunded Officials said they were developing contingency plans for new camps in a COVID-19 environment.
"Our team is ready to provide services and welcome the community back to our facilities, but we will not do so until it is safe," Riley said. "Once we receive guidance from state officials, we will work closely with our local public health officials to determine the appropriate methods and timing to reopen our facilities and programs."
While in-person camps will no longer be around this summer, virtual summer camp activities are still available online, with outdoor pools and indoor aquatic centers open with reservations.
More information on hours of operation, swim times and reservations can be found here.