Hopefully your holiday is going great but Scouting for certain individuals never stops and will continue through the holiday Season. As this is the case, National Council of the Boy Scouts of America has released a New Health Form which will replace the under 40 standard health form, the over 40 standard health form, high adventure health forms, the National Jamboree Health form and hopefully even the World jamboree Health form. There will no longer be a age requirement for the physical mean, that all scouts and scouters will have to get a physical on a annual basis. The only way to get around this is to file for a medical exemption. That new form has not be posted yet but should be posted very shortly.
Here are some of the other important details regarding the form:
- Parts A and C are to be filled out annually by youth and adult members of all BSA units (including Cub Scout packs).
- Part B is to be filled out by a licensed health care provider. It is required for resident camp, for events lasting more than 72 hours, and for activities that are strenuous and demanding such as service projects, work weekends, or high-adventure treks.
- Units are encouraged to keep the Annual Health and Medical Records in a confidential medical file for quick access in an emergency and to be prepared for all adventures.
- There is now a mandatory weight limit for those who want to participate in high-adventure activities or events that would require more than 30 minutes for evacuation by ground transportation
Hopefully all of this makes sense if not you can contact your councils Health and Safety Committeee or try to get ahold of the National health and Safety COmmittee.
Yours in Scouting Service
Mark W
Junior Assistant Scoutmaster
Troop 1616
