Campers and staff at YMCA Camp Onyahsa’s May program with the Health Center under construction.

Established in 1898, YMCA Camp Onyahsa will dedicate a new, year-round lakefront Health Center at its Dewittville lakefront site.

The project will offer enhanced summer health services, medicine dispensary, first aid, health counseling, and education while also empowering September through June specialty programs for individuals with chronic illnesses, providing caregiving, experiencing bereavement, or having other special needs. In addition to better serving individuals with diabetes, developmental disabilities, and counseling needs as it has done for decades, Onyahsa will partner with Camp Get-a-Way in September to offer a new family camp for households experiencing a child’s mental health challenges.

Jon O’Brian, longtime camp director, said the facility, nestled in a wooded area on Lake Chautauqua, will offer treatment rooms, accommodations, a kitchen, ADA bathrooms, ample covered deck spaces, and a lake room that will include a fireplace, comfortable furniture, and a wide view of Chautauqua Lake. The space will also serve as a residence for the camp’s health director during the summer season.

“We have served the general youth population for 128 years, but unfortunately there have been groups that have not been well accommodated in the past, such as immune-suppressed cancer patients,” O’Brian said. “With proper medical staffing, individuals with special medical or other needs will be able to attend a quality camp – either in a hybrid program with the general public, or specialized sessions that focus on their need.”

A dedication of the facility is scheduled for June 15, the first full day of summer youth resident camp. Major donors will be honored as campers and dignitaries cut the ribbon on the new facility. More information on the camp, health center, or evolving medical camps can be found at: www.onyahsa.org