Designed specifically for burn survivors, Camp Nah Nah Mah allows children to meet, talk, play and live with other survivors their age, fully supported by an experienced counseling staff. I recently had the chance to interview Kristen Quinn, the current Camp Director at Camp Nah Nah Mah who also works for the University of Utah Burn Center and University of Utah Burn Camp Programs. Learn more about the mission of this incredible camp through our conversation below.
1. Camp Nah Nah Mah burn camp -- where is the world did the name come from?
Nah Nah Mah means “together in friendship” in the Ute language. The Ute tribe is the primary Native American tribe in the Salt Lake area.
2. And what is the camp all about? When was it founded?
The Burn Camp program began in 1992, with the belief that the outdoors can heal emotional trauma, being with others who have had similar experiences can create community and healing, and intentional programing created to address trauma can help people move from being a victim to being a survivor. Our original camp is a six-day river trip through Desolation Canyon for adolescent burn survivors, taking place in early June. After seven years, we acknowledged that it was time to bring in programing for our younger patients/survivors.
The school aged program (Camp Nah Nah Mah) serves kids 6 through 12. It is located up Millcreek Canyon, by Salt Lake City and lasts five days and takes place in mid-August. Five years ago, we added a pre-school program, which takes places up Millcreek Canyon on the last day of the school age camp. Both of these programs culminate together with a parent program, carnival for campers and siblings and a family BBQ. This allows families to network and begin to build a community.
Four years ago we also began a Young Adult Retreat. The goal of this retreat is to help burn survivors ages 18-23 to move into adulthood. Workshops in interviewing skills (this is something our population struggles with, especially if they have visible scars or amputations), resume writing, applying for college scholarships, etiquette and other life skills are offered. And of course, peer support, trauma sensitive interventions and fun are a part of the Young Adult Retreat.
Finally, we have an adult retreat, which takes place every other year. This retreat takes place in Cataract Canyon, on the river. As you can see, we have deeply seeded beliefs that nature can heal.
3. Tell us a bit about the team that created Camp Nah Nah Mah?
The original group that founded Nah Nah Mah also started the Adolescent river trip and have a deep passion for the work done at camp. This included a couple of fire fighters, a nurse (who was the primary director of burn camp from 1992 to 2015) and a child life specialist/professional counselor.
4. What was the inspiration?
The inspiration was based in the belief that while our patients experience incredibly difficult and traumatic experiencing, simply surviving is not enough. We want to help our patients move on to thriving in life with their best selves.
5. How many kids attend camp?
The 2016 camp season provided services for 18 adolescents, 50 school aged kids, 4 pre-schoolers, 10 young adults and 5 participants in the counselor in leadership program (CILT).
6. I'm sure there are so many incredible stories of the ways that kids have been impacted by their time at camp, but can you share one or two?
We had two pre-school aged boys who both had facial scars along with visible scars on their arms, hands, legs and torso. Neither had ever met another person with a similar injury. They instantly bonded. Shortly after camp, one of the boys needed to come to the burn center for a follow up surgery. It was the first surgery he’d had since he was old enough to understand what was happening. When asked how he was feeling about surgery, he said “scared, but if my new friend can do this, then so can I.”
https://youtu.be/bZ1x9RHM4Eo
7. A camp like this doesn't happen without an incredible team and a tremendous amount of support. Can you tell us a little about the Camp Nah Nah Mah team?
The Camp Nah Nah Mah team is made up of fire fighters, a mental health clinician, nurses, physical therapists and burn survivors. A different fire fighter union cooks each meal. We have people who donate five and a half days/nights to be full time counselors and people who donate a few hours a day to volunteer. They all perform thankless jobs such as vacuuming, cleaning up from meals and setting up for crafts. We have life guards who volunteer during pool and canoe time. We do not have a full time camp staff; we rely on the admin team, the counseling staff and volunteers for every aspect of camp. We are lucky enough to use the Boy Scouts of Great Salt Lake’s Camp Tracy, which is located just outside of Salt Lake City.
8. And do you have corporate partners that help support your work?
We fundraise for camp throughout the year. It really is a labor of love for us. We feel very strongly that camp should be accessible to all our patients, so we do not charge for camp. We are a medical specialty camp and put a lot of focus on providing physical therapy for our campers who need it and staff the camp with a full time burn nurse. We provide one on one psycho social interventions as needed. Therapeutic art, social skills, team building, talking circles and opportunities to learn new skills are imbedded in all our programing. This year we were excited to work with Bio-Oil and The Phoenix Society for Burn Survivors on a video campaign to highlight the life-changing benefits our camp offers.
9. Are you already deep in planning for next year's camp? Do you have dates already planned?
We start planning the next camp while we are still at camp. Dates are listed on our website: http://healthcare.utah.edu/burncenter/burncamp/
10. If people want to get involved, or know a kid who might benefit from joining you as a camper, whom should they contact?
We start accepting applications in mid-January. If people have questions about our program, they can always call me at 801-213-2876. I’m happy to talk about camp. The Burn Camp community is a tight knit community. We can help people find a camp in their local area, if need be. Our priority is to serve the patients that we took care of or the burn injured people who live in our area. But, ultimately we want to support the burn survivor community.
Volunteer and full time counselor applications for Camp Nah Nah Mah are also posted at http://healthcare.utah.edu/burncenter/burncamp/ starting in January. All volunteers and full time staff go through yearly back ground checks, a rigorous online training process and in person training. Full time counselors also participate in an in person interview.
We do fundraising throughout the year. Check the University of Utah Burn Center’s Facebook page for the most up to date fundraisers and find out how to participate!
Nah Nah Mah means “together in friendship” in the Ute language. The Ute tribe is the primary Native American tribe in the Salt Lake area.
2. And what is the camp all about? When was it founded?
The Burn Camp program began in 1992, with the belief that the outdoors can heal emotional trauma, being with others who have had similar experiences can create community and healing, and intentional programing created to address trauma can help people move from being a victim to being a survivor. Our original camp is a six-day river trip through Desolation Canyon for adolescent burn survivors, taking place in early June. After seven years, we acknowledged that it was time to bring in programing for our younger patients/survivors.
The school aged program (Camp Nah Nah Mah) serves kids 6 through 12. It is located up Millcreek Canyon, by Salt Lake City and lasts five days and takes place in mid-August. Five years ago, we added a pre-school program, which takes places up Millcreek Canyon on the last day of the school age camp. Both of these programs culminate together with a parent program, carnival for campers and siblings and a family BBQ. This allows families to network and begin to build a community.
Four years ago we also began a Young Adult Retreat. The goal of this retreat is to help burn survivors ages 18-23 to move into adulthood. Workshops in interviewing skills (this is something our population struggles with, especially if they have visible scars or amputations), resume writing, applying for college scholarships, etiquette and other life skills are offered. And of course, peer support, trauma sensitive interventions and fun are a part of the Young Adult Retreat.
Finally, we have an adult retreat, which takes place every other year. This retreat takes place in Cataract Canyon, on the river. As you can see, we have deeply seeded beliefs that nature can heal.
3. Tell us a bit about the team that created Camp Nah Nah Mah?
The original group that founded Nah Nah Mah also started the Adolescent river trip and have a deep passion for the work done at camp. This included a couple of fire fighters, a nurse (who was the primary director of burn camp from 1992 to 2015) and a child life specialist/professional counselor.
4. What was the inspiration?
The inspiration was based in the belief that while our patients experience incredibly difficult and traumatic experiencing, simply surviving is not enough. We want to help our patients move on to thriving in life with their best selves.
5. How many kids attend camp?
The 2016 camp season provided services for 18 adolescents, 50 school aged kids, 4 pre-schoolers, 10 young adults and 5 participants in the counselor in leadership program (CILT).
6. I'm sure there are so many incredible stories of the ways that kids have been impacted by their time at camp, but can you share one or two?
We had two pre-school aged boys who both had facial scars along with visible scars on their arms, hands, legs and torso. Neither had ever met another person with a similar injury. They instantly bonded. Shortly after camp, one of the boys needed to come to the burn center for a follow up surgery. It was the first surgery he’d had since he was old enough to understand what was happening. When asked how he was feeling about surgery, he said “scared, but if my new friend can do this, then so can I.”
https://youtu.be/bZ1x9RHM4Eo
7. A camp like this doesn't happen without an incredible team and a tremendous amount of support. Can you tell us a little about the Camp Nah Nah Mah team?
The Camp Nah Nah Mah team is made up of fire fighters, a mental health clinician, nurses, physical therapists and burn survivors. A different fire fighter union cooks each meal. We have people who donate five and a half days/nights to be full time counselors and people who donate a few hours a day to volunteer. They all perform thankless jobs such as vacuuming, cleaning up from meals and setting up for crafts. We have life guards who volunteer during pool and canoe time. We do not have a full time camp staff; we rely on the admin team, the counseling staff and volunteers for every aspect of camp. We are lucky enough to use the Boy Scouts of Great Salt Lake’s Camp Tracy, which is located just outside of Salt Lake City.
8. And do you have corporate partners that help support your work?
We fundraise for camp throughout the year. It really is a labor of love for us. We feel very strongly that camp should be accessible to all our patients, so we do not charge for camp. We are a medical specialty camp and put a lot of focus on providing physical therapy for our campers who need it and staff the camp with a full time burn nurse. We provide one on one psycho social interventions as needed. Therapeutic art, social skills, team building, talking circles and opportunities to learn new skills are imbedded in all our programing. This year we were excited to work with Bio-Oil and The Phoenix Society for Burn Survivors on a video campaign to highlight the life-changing benefits our camp offers.
9. Are you already deep in planning for next year's camp? Do you have dates already planned?
We start planning the next camp while we are still at camp. Dates are listed on our website: http://healthcare.utah.edu/burncenter/burncamp/
10. If people want to get involved, or know a kid who might benefit from joining you as a camper, whom should they contact?
We start accepting applications in mid-January. If people have questions about our program, they can always call me at 801-213-2876. I’m happy to talk about camp. The Burn Camp community is a tight knit community. We can help people find a camp in their local area, if need be. Our priority is to serve the patients that we took care of or the burn injured people who live in our area. But, ultimately we want to support the burn survivor community.
Volunteer and full time counselor applications for Camp Nah Nah Mah are also posted at http://healthcare.utah.edu/burncenter/burncamp/ starting in January. All volunteers and full time staff go through yearly back ground checks, a rigorous online training process and in person training. Full time counselors also participate in an in person interview.
We do fundraising throughout the year. Check the University of Utah Burn Center’s Facebook page for the most up to date fundraisers and find out how to participate!
