Camp Okawehna
Camp O
Camp Okawehna is a week-long summer experience for children with kidney disease
For many children with renal disease, attending a summer camp was not an option. The emotional, physical, and financial burden of dialysis treatments extinguished their hopes for a childhood “camp” experience. However, that was until the idea of Camp Okawehna was born in the minds of two hemodialysis kids who wanted to go to camp.
In 1974, Camp Okawehna was established. Located just 50 miles outside of Nashville Tennessee, Camp Okawehna is a week-long summer experience for children with kidney disease. Children who have had a kidney transplant as well as those children on hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis are welcomed at camp. While sponsored by DCI, all children between the ages of 6 to 18 years of age are eligible to attend regardless of where their treatment is received. Camp “O”, as it is affectionately called, is the only kidney camp located in the state of Tennessee and one of the largest kidney camps in the country.