N.Y. SEEKS SAFER KIDS’ CAMPS:

New York State is preparing to tighten safety rules for children’s summer camps, proposing that lifeguards at least 18 years old supervise wilderness swimming and that guardrails be installed on camp bunk beds. State health officials said the measures are appropriate to protect children, noting a 1998 drowning during one camp outing, plus 59 serious injuries among campers who fell out of bunk beds between 1998 and 2002. The proposals would affect 2,600 overnight, day and traveling camps statewide. Retrofitting bunk beds at any of the 650 overnight camps, as well a proposal to require new water treatment systems for 120 camps without them, wouldn’t take effect before next year. The rails are expected to cost $15 or more per bed, with installation of water filtration and treatment equipment costing about $3,200 per camp. The Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, YMCA and other camp operators and organizations were consulted, according to the proposed rules published in the State Register. Other proposals would: prohibit campers from riding in trailer beds or other parts of vehicles not designed for passengers; require reporting all potential rabies exposure and uses of the drug epinephrine, which is given for severe allergic reactions; and require that camp leaders on trips where emergency medical services are not promptly available have certifications in first aid and CPR.