The Redwoods Group

The Redwoods Group Insurance Program for YMCAs
Aquatic Alert 2005-02
Although the following incident does not involve a Redwoods insured YMCA, we want to impress upon you the role each of us plays in providing a safe environment.

Each year about 1500 young people drown in the U.S., over a third in guarded pools. As we all know, a drowning can occur nearly anywhere. Yet, the natural inclination is to believe that one will not happen in our own community, especially at our own YMCA. Awareness of the threat's reality is critical. Reinforcing proven prevention strategies is an essential element in protecting the kids in our programs. Both are the goals for our "Aquatic Alert" program. Each is a brief treatment of the topic, focussing on a real, recent, public event, gleaned from the media... reprinting the published article in its entirety (omitting names and identifying references to the YMCA) and providing a few important teaching points for you to share with your staff. As always, if you need additional guidance on this topic, please call us at 800-463-8546.

"Lap swimmer drowns in YMCA pool"

LARGE MID-WESTERN CITY: 10/28/2005 - An elderly lap swimmer was found at the bottom of the deep end of her local YMCA pool early Wednesday morning by a fellow bather.

[Victim], a 78-year-old frequent swimmer at the Y, was noticed lying in 10 feet of water by one of the other 6:30 a.m. swimmers. The man alerted the lifeguard, who extracted her from the pool and administered CPR until paramedics arrived about 20 minutes later.

Battalion Chief Scott Small said that he believed that she was on the pool's bottom for a few minutes.

She was transported to Lutheran General Hospital where she expired the next morning. A [name] County autopsy ruled that her death was by drowning; no contributory medical conditions or events were mentioned.

Swimming was one of [victim's] favorite activities. She was an active retiree who belonged to St. James Women's Club in addition to the YMCA. She also enjoyed biking, gardening, and reading. Funeral services will take place on Wednesday the 2nd at St. James.

She is survived by her brother, [name], and her daughter and granddaughter, [names].

YMCA officials say that they have lost one of their own. "We felt she was truly part of the YMCA family," said [name], spokeswoman for YMCA. She often swam with a group of women and was well liked by staff and members alike. "Our thoughts and prayers are with the family."

[YMCA spokeswoman] said she didn't know how many lifeguards were on duty and refused to answer other questions.

WHAT WE DON'T KNOW:

How long the victim was underwater.
If any other medical condition precipitated the drowning.
How many lifeguards were on duty, where they were positioned, and if they were distracted by any other tasks or personal activities.

WHAT WE DO KNOW:

The victim was a competent swimmer who was familiar with the pool.
No one noticed her distress or the cause of her tragedy.
She had been underwater for at least several minutes when she was discovered motionless at the bottom 10 feet of water by a fellow swimmer.
One or more lifeguards were on duty at the time of the incident but it was not a lifeguard who identified the situation.
The medical examiner ruled her death as an accidental drowning.

WHAT WE SHOULD REMEMBER:

Lifeguards must actively scan the pool at all times that it is open.
Actively scanning means consciously evaluating all portions of the surface, below water, and pool bottom of the guard's area of responsibility every 10 seconds.
Early mornings, lap swim, and slow periods are no exception.
Secondary duties or personal activities cannot ever be allowed to distract an on-duty lifeguard.
Drowning is no respecter of swimming ability, experience, or age...anyone can drown.
The young may have issues of swimming ability, size, and limited life experience.
The elderly may be taken for granted as minimal risk patrons, may swim slowly and quietly, and may have preexisting medical conditions or diminished physical fitness.
There are no completely unambiguous signs...
Non-swimmers don't always drown and Olympic-caliber swimmers sometimes do
People don't carry a sign indicating their health condition, confidence issues, or phobias
Drowning victims don't regularly wear red swim caps or use easily distinguishable markings so that the lifeguard(s) can more readily identify them
Normally a drowning is silent. The victim neither thrashes arms and legs nor yells for help. Often the victim's above-water distress will be without obvious sound or visual clue and s/he will slip underwater in less than twenty seconds.
A lifeguard cannot prevent someone from suffering a fatal heart attack, stroke, or other medical emergency when s/he is in the pool. However, no matter what life-threatening event initiates an aquatic emergency the guard should be able to prevent a subsequent drowning. The above incident had no noted contributory medical conditions or emergency...she apparently just drowned.

Please call us at 800-463-8546 to discuss this or any other risk management concern, or visit our web site at www.redwoodsgroup.com to learn more about YMCA risk management related issues.

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Risk Management services are provided by The Redwoods Group to assist the insured in fulfilling its responsibilities for the control of potential loss-producing situations involving their YMCA operations. The information contained is not intended as legal advice; it simply represents trends in the YMCA industry, related industries and/or law. Laws and suggested standards are under constant review by courts, states and trade groups. They can be vastly different in each jurisdiction. For legal advice relating to any subject addressed, YMCAs are advised to seek the services of a local personal attorney. The information is provided "AS IS" without warranty of any kind and The Redwoods Group expressly disclaims all warranties and conditions with regard to any information contained, including all implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. The Redwoods Group assumes no liability of any kind for information and data contained or for any course of action you may take in reliance thereon.

released 11/23/05