Handling of Cadet Medications (draft CAPR 160-2)

[N Harmon]

CAPR 160-2, Draft,  Handling of Cadet Medications

First, bravo.  :clap:  This regulation provides some much needed guidance.

However, I was wondering if it would be advisable to add something about medications that are included in first aid kits that could be stored/used without parental permission. Examples would be triple antibiotic ointment and lip balm.

[FW]

Looks like a good regulation to me too.  I don't think the addition of such items as ointments, lip balm and/or sunscreen would be applicable.

[AirAux]

Not so sure this is a good idea.   Now we will have 12 year olds running around with their own Ritalin, maybe giving it to others or deciding they don't need it during encampment??  I will have to give this some more thought before I stamp my endorsement on it..

[Ned]

   Now we will have 12 year olds running around with their own Ritalin, maybe giving it to others or deciding they don't need it during encampment??

Many activities already permit this with no recorded issues.

Indeed, as we were drafting this we extensively researched this issue and were unable to find a single verified instance of inappropriate medication sharing.

Lot's of "I heard that once at the XX wing encampment, there was this cadet who . . . " urban legends, but not a single paperwork-generating or first-hand account.

(It may well have happened, but it does not appear to be a serious problem.)

If a cadet is unable to handle taking their own prescribed medications, they are simply too young for what ever activity they are attempting to undertake.  And no senior is qualified to tell anyone else when and how to take their prescribed medications.

[davidsinn]

Not so sure this is a good idea.   Now we will have 12 year olds running around with their own Ritalin, maybe giving it to others or deciding they don't need it during encampment??  I will have to give this some more thought before I stamp my endorsement on it..

Try a 17 year old that decides not to take it. Been there, done that. Would have been 2b'd if I gave into the impulse to jack him in the mouth

[NC Hokie]

And no senior is qualified to tell anyone else when and how to take their prescribed medications.

In that case, the reg should be rewritten to eliminate the provision that a CAP senior member "can agree to accept the responsibility of making sure a minor cadet is reminded to take any prescribed medication at the times and in the frequencies prescribed."

I realize that there are legal limitations to the storage and dispensing of medication, but is the law so strict that an encampment TAC officer or medic can't be tasked with reminding cadets to take their meds?  Do we REALLY want to tell a parent that a preventable medical emergency occurred because none of the adult staff could be bothered to even ask if their child was taking their meds?

[Ned]

In that case, the reg should be rewritten to eliminate the provision that a CAP senior member "can agree to accept the responsibility of making sure a minor cadet is reminded to take any prescribed medication at the times and in the frequencies prescribed."

Any senior is qualified to remind someone to do something.    That is actually quite different than telling someone what medication to take when.  It is a crucial distinction.  The responsiblity for taking medications remains with the patient, not CAP, Inc or our officers.

I realize that there are legal limitations to the storage and dispensing of medication, but is the law so strict that an encampment TAC officer or medic can't be tasked with reminding cadets to take their meds? 

Tacs can (and routinely do, in my experience) volunteer to remind cadets about such things.  But under the draft regulation, they could not be "tasked" or ordered to do so.

Do we REALLY want to tell a parent that a preventable medical emergency occurred because none of the adult staff could be bothered to even ask if their child was taking their meds?

Please re-read the draft.  Tacs and other staff can volunteer to remind cadets to take their medications.  But ulimtately, if any patient refuses or neglects to take their own medications as prescribed a "preventable medical" situation may well occur.  Such things have happened before, and are likely to happen again regardless of how the regulation is written.

[NC Hokie]

Any senior is qualified to remind someone to do something.    That is actually quite different than telling someone what medication to take when.  It is a crucial distinction.  The responsiblity for taking medications remains with the patient, not CAP, Inc or our officers.

So, a CAP officer who merely reminds a minor to take medication according to a schedule supplied by a parent or guardian would be held harmless under the law if that minor fails to do so?

[Eclipse]

^ Said minor is immediately removed from the encampment / activity if they will not take their medications and that removal is noted in the the health safety logs.

BTDT.

We can't do anything about parents and commanders who hide conditions from us, but we can act on the knowledge we have.

[N Harmon]

I don't think the addition of such items as ointments, lip balm and/or sunscreen would be applicable.

Sunscreen isn't a medication, but ointments and lip balm are. And picky as it may seem, given the strictest interpretation of the regulation it would seem to require parental permission for things common to any ground team first aid kit.

[Major Lord]

Paragraph 2 states that "CAP members, regardless of age, will be responsible for transporting, storing, and taking their own medications"

Paragraph 6 (c) States that "...non-prescription medications may be given to minor cadets as needed and according to package directions by CAP senior members, and only if permission has been given in writing by the cadet's parent  or guardian."

Para 2 states that the member is responsible, Para 6 ( c ) seems to indicate SM's maintaining custody of meds and administering them according to the written directives of the parent/guardian.

Questions:

1) Since written permissions to carry meds by minor cadets are required, and labeling requirements are imposed, do we as the SM's at the activity have a duty to verify the medications?

2) Is a minor cadet required to carry medications on his person if there has been no special arrangement for storage? (i.e, can they leave their Adderall in their locker?)

3) Can permission to administer OTC (over-the-counter) medications to a minor cadet be given by a parent/guardian telephonically, or as the draft requires, solely in written form in advance of the activity?

4) Must the cadet supply the OTC med if telephonic permission is allowable?

5) If a minor cadet attends an activity with an apparently valid prescription in hand, but without advanced written permission, what permissible remedies will CAP accept?

6) Para 3 requires a Wing to publish a supplement to the regulation when the basic regulation is in conflict with state laws and regulations. Is the Wing the sole approving authority of the supplement? The introductory paragraph uses the terms " .....except as specifically noted or when approved by NHQ CAP/GC.

7) Para 3 makes reference to the "laws of the geographic location" for purposes of exemption from the general rule. Would this permit, for instance, CAWG to allow or refuse the possession of medical marijuana, legally and properly dispensed and possessed ( according to the State Laws of California) by a minor cadet on a non-federal facility?

Major Lord

[BillB]

To bad the Regulation is only in Draft form. Encampments are starting in about a month so the draft will cause confusion since it's not finalized and approved by the NEC.

[Al Sayre]

Paragraph 2 states that "CAP members, regardless of age, will be responsible for transporting, storing, and taking their own medications"

Paragraph 6 (c) States that "...non-prescription medications may be given to minor cadets as needed and according to package directions by CAP senior members, and only if permission has been given in writing by the cadet's parent  or guardian."

Para 2 states that the member is responsible, Para 6 ( c ) seems to indicate SM's maintaining custody of meds and administering them according to the written directives of the parent/guardian.

Questions:

1) Since written permissions to carry meds by minor cadets are required, and labeling requirements are imposed, do we as the SM's at the activity have a duty to verify the medications?

2) Is a minor cadet required to carry medications on his person if their has been no special arrangement for storage? (i.e, can they leave their Adderall in their locker?)

3) Can permission to administer OTC (over-the-counter) medications to a minor cadet be given by a parent/guardian telephonically, or as the draft requires, solely in written form in advance of the activity?

4) Must the cadet supply the OTC med if telephonic permission is allowable?

5) If a minor cadet attends an activity with an apparently valid prescription in hand, but without advanced written permission, what permissible remedies will CAP accept?

6) Para 3 requires a Wing to publish a supplement to the regulation when the basic regulation is in conflict with state laws and regulations. Is the Wing the sole approving authority of the supplement? The introductory paragraph uses the terms " .....except as specifically noted or when approved by NHQ CAP/GC.

7) Para 3 makes reference to the "laws of the geographic location" for purposes of exemption from the general rule. Would this permit, for instance, CAWG to allow or refuse the possession of medical marijuana, legally and properly dispensed and possessed ( according to the State Laws of California) by a minor cadet on a non-federal facility?

Major Lord

These are some good questions, hope you are submitting them for consideration.

[a2capt]

If it conflicts with a current regulation, the current one trumps. This a draft.

If it conflicts with common sense, well, this is a draft. Send it up the chain.

If it contains something that (you are) following now, (or) won't clash with the current regulations, then  .. work it in. You'll be that much more ready when what passes, is ratified.


(edits, thinking too fast, left out words)

[Eclipse]

To bad the Regulation is only in Draft form. Encampments are starting in about a month so the draft will cause confusion since it's not finalized and approved by the NEC.

Encampments run year round - many have had to work from the NEC minutes alone...

[lordmonar]

Not so sure this is a good idea.   Now we will have 12 year olds running around with their own Ritalin, maybe giving it to others or deciding they don't need it during encampment??  I will have to give this some more thought before I stamp my endorsement on it..

Try a 17 year old that decides not to take it. Been there, done that. Would have been 2b'd if I gave into the impulse to jack him in the mouth

+1

Was on boy scout summer camp staff....a scout stopped taking his meds and went into withdraw sezures while in my Life Saving Merit Badge class while we were 25 meters from shore in 15' of brackish water.

It was sure dumb luck that I was able to find him (on the bottom in convulsions)!

As Ned said....if they are not old enough to handle their own meds they don't need to be an encampment.

[Major Lord]

Although kids can be a problem when it comes to managing their meds, adults are not much better. I have run a lot of 911 calls due to people who could not/would not/ should not manage their diabetes, cardiac, or blood pressure meds. Oh well, job security for medical workers!

Major Lord

[Spike]

Maybe all that is needed is the following; "Members will self medicate, and if cold storage of medication is needed, the member will need to coordinate that with the Activity Commander who will secure a refrigeration device from the Wing Headquarters with a key that will be assigned ONLY to the person whose medication is being stored".

[Pylon]

Maybe all that is needed is the following; "Members will self medicate, and if cold storage of medication is needed, the member will need to coordinate that with the Activity Commander who will secure a refrigeration device from the Wing Headquarters with a key that will be assigned ONLY to the person whose medication is being stored".

And who would fund your magic fridges?  And where do you put these fridges on an FTX in the forest?   

[Spike]

^ Good Questions Mike!  So, the guy or Cadets that need refrigeration of meds on the FTX can't participate.  That simple.  CAP is allowed to discriminate based on this area.  We have certain qualifications for safety and operation, and if a person needs to refrigerate the insulin they take, too bad for them on overnight FTX's.

1 refrigerator per wing for Encampments and MAJOR Cadet activities would cost very little overall.  Most wings already have these, or can go out getting free one's from local communities.