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By Will Evans
The ACA standards are the starting place for establishing your camp's
standards of care. But achieving a "yes" to all of the standards
does not mean that you have covered all of the safety concerns in your
camp. The number of specialized activities and situations in camps is
multiplying. The recreation industry is changing quickly. Because of
these factors, it is essential that camp directors use the ACA standards
as a baseline for safety, and then examine your unique issues, concerns,
and develop your practices to assure the highest level of safety for
your campers. Keep in mind that sometimes the most current practices
are found outside of the ACA Standards. Let me comment on several areas
of concern from my experience in the aquatics industry and as an insurance
inspector.
- Consider first the waterfront and lifeguarding standards.
The additional mandatories are helpful in emphasizing the tremendous
risk in waterfront activities. However, I hope that camp directors
in every ACA-Accredited® camp are raising the bar on their waterfront
safety by implementing the standards with these practices . . . .
- Assure that your aquatics supervisor(s) has at least
one or more current certifications.
- Verify that your aquatics supervisor
has certifications and training specific to both the body of water
and types of activities to be supervised. This must include training
in rescues, emergency care and inspection of aquatic equipment
used in all of these areas.
- Assure that your aquatics supervisor
has experience in developing and documenting skills testing for
other aquatics staff.
- Provide resources and time for your aquatics
supervisor and lifeguard staff to participate in regular in-service
training programs in multiple aquatic environments to stay current
with the best information and practice in the industry. My recommendation
is at least four hours per month of ongoing training.
- Assure
that lifeguarding staff in each specialized area (pool, waterpark,
waterfront, boating, lake, river) have certification and experience
in that environment and activity. This must include skills training
in supervision of the activity and the equipment, rescue, and emergency
care.
- Let's consider some issues
related to emergency care training and equipment.
- Most people are
aware of the new American Red Cross Lifeguard course, but many
have not considered how the curriculum changes may impact your
camp (see page 9 for specific program changes). For instance, Automatic
External Defibrillator (AED) training is now a mandatory part of
the CPR training of lifeguards. Does this mean that AEDs are now
mandatory equipment at waterfronts and swimming pools? In my opinion,
yes. Let's say your
camp has a pool and a lake. Do you need an AED at each? There are
no specific regulations on this yet, but logically, it depends on
how far apart they are located. A two- to three-minute retrieval
time would probably be reasonable. A five- to ten-minute retrieval
time probably would not.
- Oxygen therapy is currently an optional
course addition to lifeguarding. Considering that the vast majority
of drowning situations in camps are a result of respiratory failure,
and that approximately 20 percent of all near-drowning recoveries
sent to hospitals result in some sort of permanent neurological injury,
the addition of this course to your lifeguard training makes sense.
Consider the difference 100 percent oxygen might have as opposed
to 16 percent oxygen delivered by a pocket mask. Using a bag-valve
mask effectively takes practice, not just the knowledge. Refresher
training with a bag-valve mask and oxygen should be part of your
lifeguards' in-service training. You should also document
the in-service training.
- These are emerging trends and resources available
from other reputable sources that will affect our standards and practices
in the future:
- National Standards for Aquatics Facilities: A group
is currently working on developing a new set of standards for safety,
risk management, and operations at aquatic facilities. Following
the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) standards setting
procedures, ANSI APSP-12 Standard for Safety, Risk Management,
and Operations at Aquatic Facilities will address not only pools
but also the Class D Natural Bodies of Water. The goal is to create
a standard that is specific to safety and risk management that
can be utilized by health departments and other agencies when creating
bathing codes or SOPs.
- Scanning Techniques: A number of new philosophies
are emerging on how lifeguards should scan for potential problems.
- In the video "Disappearing Dummies" (available from Aquatic
Safety Research Group, orders@aquaticsafetygroup.com or 814-234-0313),
lifeguards are shown the importance of scanning a pool from
the bottom to the surface due to the disturbance of the surface
causing a submerged dummy to actually disappear from sight.
This is an important consideration as someone on the bottom
is in much more serious danger than someone on the surface.
It is also an important reminder to lifeguards that even though
the clarity of the water is fine, it is translucent and subject
to light diffraction that can cause objects to be difficult
to see. This video also brings to light an emerging cause of
drowning called Shallow Water Blackout, which results when
good swimmers hold their breath too long swimming underwater
and as a result pass out. Additional factors that this video
reinforces are the use of polarized sunglasses by lifeguards
and positioning lifeguards in an elevated position in order
to reduce glare.
- An excellent technique in training
new (or apprentice) lifeguards is for an experienced lifeguard
to stand beside the trainee and have them verbalize what they
see and what they are looking for in the way of swimmer behaviors.
This reinforces that the lifeguard must not only look at the
swimmers, but also constantly evaluate their abilities and
risks. The experienced lifeguard can then evaluate how well
the trainee is actually scanning and correct gaps in technique.
This training technique works well for both pools and lakes.
- Zones of Coverage: The size of the area lifeguards must scan,
particularly on a lake, has a significant impact on their ability
to identify and respond to a drowning. A good rule of thumb
to use in determining the zone size to assign to a lifeguard
is that it should be no larger than the lifeguard can swim
in a twenty-second timeframe. If the lifeguard is using swim
fins, that zone might be expanded. If the coverage zone is
larger than that, placing an additional guard out in the water
in a canoe or on a rescue board would be advisable. Keep in
mind that lifeguards in canoes or rescue boards do not have
the same height advantage for good visibility that they have
in an elevated chair.
Aquatics is an important
part of most camp programs. A well-trained and equipped aquatics staff
is critical to the safety of your campers and other staff. New ideas,
training techniques, and equipment are constantly emerging. We as professionals
need to look to a variety of outside resources to verify that our camp
policies and standards actually reflect what should be taking place.
I must admit that my recommendations come not just from an awareness
of the changes in the industry, but from observations of inadequate practices
even in accredited camps. Camp directors, for the safety of your campers
and the quality of your camp, raise the bar. Get current on your understanding
of practices your aquatic staff should be utilizing from a variety of
reputable sources. Begin your corrective actions for this summer. The
life you save might be mine.
Originally published in the 2007 Spring issue
of The CampLine.
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