Carolyn Utsey, P.T., Ph.D.
Janis Matthews
Dan Marullo, Ph.D.
Department of Physical Therapy
This collaborative project involved health-sciences students, community volunteers and a community-based environment with children who have special needs. As the number of health care students who volunteered as camp counselors for the Rainbow Connection Camp greatly increased, there was a need to develop training modules to help them understand key issues as they cared for the special-needs children during the week-long summer camp. UTMB health care providers who facilitated the Rainbow Connection Camp, traveled to Chicago, Illinois and attended training at the Children’s Oncology Camps Association. From this training, orientation modules pertaining to the emotional, spiritual, medical, and physical aspects of campers were developed. Additionally, this project provided for the implementation of a pre-camp weekend to introduce counselor volunteers to the specialized summer camp environment, which serves children and adolescents who have been treated for cancer and blood disorders at UTMB’s Children’s Hospital.