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Because Kids in the Hospital are Still Kids!®

Camp Get-A-Well-A brings a camp experience right inside the hospital, so kids confined to a medical facility can still experience the thrills of summer camp. What is our prescription for sick and seriously ill kids?  A heavy dose of campfire sing-a-longs, s'mores, carnival games, tie-dye and the ever popular canoe ride back and forth in the therapy pool!
Camp Get-A-Well-A's in-hospital summer camp in a sterile setting is the first of its kind in the United States. Five-day camps as well as single event S'more Outreach Camps are available. Since 1998, Camp Get-A-Well-A has served over 11,000 kids, benefiting children's hospitals and patients across the country from Philadelphia, PA to Phoenix, AZ.

S'more Camp

Camp activities at Gillette Children's Specialty Healthcare in St. Paul, MN on the first Saturday and fourth Thursday of every month. We created S'more Camp because you can never have too much fun! S'more Camp is a 2-4 hour camp activity that is brought into hospitals all year long. What do we do at S'more Camp? Arts and crafts projects, carnivals, storytelling- basically the same things we do at camp- just more often!

Camp Stories

Keeping Dallas' Smile Afloat

Dallas on a Canoe Ride at Camp Get-A-Well-A

Dallas was born at Philadelphia Children's Hospital with major health complications that required 24-hour care. The hospital staff was the only family he ever knew. Dallas was a veteran of Camp Get-A-Well-A, attending camp four out of the six years of his life. With his physical limitations, Dallas could not sing, play, do crafts, or speak, and it was rare to see him smile or interact with other children.

Dallas' first and only "canoe trip" came while floating in the hospital therapy pool at Camp Get-A-Well-A in 2004. The canoe ride brought a faint, but evident smile to Dallas' face -- the first time any of the staff had witnessed him smiling. He didn't want the ride to end, as volunteers pushed his canoe back and forth in the pool. Everyone could tell what he was feeling, even though he would never be able to say it.


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