Risk Management Alert Topic: Aquatics - Special Needs Patrons Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), persons with disabilities must be provided equal access and opportunity to use all of your facility. In the aquatic arena, besides providing the necessary physical accommodations like ramps and lifts, your aquatic staff must also be prepared both to assist the special needs patrons in normal activities and to respond appropriately in case of an emergency. In either case, the staff must remember that those with disabilities are people first... people who should be treated with the same level of respect and dignity that would be afforded to any member. There are numerous types of disabilities; each may require that your staff act differently in order to meet the needs of the specific guest. Staff must be aware of members who are known to have disabilities and must be alert to others who may have limitations. They should be asked about their specific needs with regard to the aquatic facility, and that information should be shared with the rest of the staff to ensure that the patron is consistently assisted in a supportive and professional manner. Common challenges are generally classed in the following three areas. Physical: A common therapeutic activity for those with physical challenges is swimming. Buoyancy, strength, flexibility, and agility limitations may restrict these patrons' skill and mobility in the water. Some may even require a personal caregiver's assistance. Lifeguards must consider these patrons as high-risk swimmers and pay additional attention to them while scanning. The guards must be proactive to prevent a potentially dangerous situation from becoming an emergency. Behavioral, developmental, and mental: The physical skill levels of people with these challenges can range from superior to highly impaired. Staff must help the patron both understand and follow the rules of the facility. Enforcement of the rules may be difficult, but since it is vital to ensure their safety and that of the people around them, exceptions should not be granted. These patrons may have the size and/or appearance of an adult but generally they are incapable of consistently functioning as one. Any repeated serious problems should be addressed with the respective guardian or caregiver. These patrons should be classed as high-risk swimmers because they may not be able to make appropriate safety decisions consistently. Some may have accompanying physical challenges such as an increased propensity for seizures. Communications: Understanding the rules and swimming competently may be within the capabilities of people with communications challenges, but they may have difficulty in understanding a lifeguard's instructions or in expressing questions or concerns to the staff. Whether the condition is caused by a minor mental or physical disorder or by a sensory disability such as blindness or deafness, the lifeguard must determine the appropriate alternate form of communication for each of these patrons. It may be whistle blasts, hand signals, etc. Communicating at a distance with a hearing or visually impaired individual is difficult but a means must be found for each such guest so that each can safely use your facility. In addition to being able to recognize individuals with various challenges and to communicate effectively with them, lifeguards also need to be able to safely and efficiently assist each of them in case of need. Because techniques must be altered to provide appropriate assistance for individuals with each specific disability, planning and practice are required. In-service training sessions should address these areas regularly enough that guards are proficient in the alternative methods. Guard-to-swimmer ratios also need to increase to provide adequate protection for pools that include groups of swimmers with disabilities. Please call us at 800-463-8546 to discuss this or any other risk management safety concern, or visit our web site at www.redwoodsgroup.com to learn more about YMCA risk management related issues.
|
| 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 1/18/05 |