9/25/2013· Aquatics Safety
Low-Water Crossings: "The Hidden Danger"
By: Gerald Dworkin
Nearly half of all flood related deaths occur in vehicles. Most of these deaths take place when people drive into flooded highway dips or low drainage areas.
As Originally Published by Aquatics International Magazine, September/October 1998.
By: Gerald Dworkin
Tel: (207) 967-8614
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Properly recognizing and managing suspected spinal injuries caused by head-first entries into the water require high levels of training. Lifeguards and other water rescue personnel must be able to evaluate the signs and symptoms associated with spinal trauma and the manner in which an injury occurs. The rescuer should assume that a spinal injury exists if the forces causing the trauma were sufficient to damage the spine.
When a spinal injury occurs, the rescuer must immediately restrict the victim's spinal motion to prevent further injury. Principles of spinal-motion restriction should include:
Procedural Changes
Training courses for emergency medical services (EMS), first responders and lifeguards have advocated the above principles for the past 20 years. Yet, with the release of the 1995 American Red Cross lifeguard training programs, the Red Cross abandoned these principles and now advocates that spinal immobilization in the water be accomplished by as few as two lifeguards using a rigid board with a commercial head immobilizer and a sub-standard strapping system, and without the use of a cervical extrication collar.
I believe that the procedures advocated by the Red Cross do not meet the standard of care dictated by the EMS community, and that these procedures are not only dangerous, but can actually increase the severity of the injury.
A 1988 study identifies secondary spinal-cord injuries as significant sources of major neurological deficits (Paraplegia, 26:143-150). Improper handling and transportation techniques by pre hospital personnel may be responsible for up to 10 percent of these secondary injuries. It's possible that the procedures advocated by the Red Cross could be responsible for an increase in secondary injuries during the rescue phase.
The procedures currently advocated by the Red Cross should be exception, not the standard. I encourage the Red Cross to modify its position as follows:
Better Training and Equipment.
The American Red Cross rationalizes that it has excluded instruction on the use of cervical collars because (a) many facilities don't have collars of different sizes; (b) lack of in-service training results in degradation of skills; and (c) lack of available staff results in backboarding being a two-person task.
This rationale should not be an excuse to eliminate the instruction and use of established safety procedures. A complete set of six collars costs approximately $72, a small price to pay when considering the true value of the collars. Additionally, the Red Cross should call for an increase in the education and training of lifeguards through formal programs and in-service training.
The advances in pre hospital equipment, education and training have reduced the number and severity of spinal cord injuries. Only through the availability of appropriate spinal immobilization equipment and the effective training of lifeguard and other rescue personnel can we continue to reduce the number and severity of water-related spinal cord injuries.
Gerald Dworkin, is a professional aquatics safety and water rescue consultant for Lifesaving Resources Inc. and is responsible for aquatics safety, lifeguard, water rescue, and ice rescue training curricula and programs. He also consults as an expert in drowning and aquatic injury litigation. He is a graduate from the University of Bridgeport in Connecticut, and has over 30 years professional experience in the fire, EMS, and water rescue sector. He is currently a firefighter/EMT for the Harrisville (NH) Fire and Rescue Department.
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9/25/2013· Aquatics Safety
Low-Water Crossings: "The Hidden Danger"
By: Gerald Dworkin
Nearly half of all flood related deaths occur in vehicles. Most of these deaths take place when people drive into flooded highway dips or low drainage areas.
10/28/2014· Aquatics Safety
Aquatics Safety: In the Rhythm of Saving Lives
By: Gerald Dworkin
On July 13, 2004, a 55-year-old man collapsed in the Medina (Ohio) Aquatic and Fitness Center. The aquatic manager for the city, Darlene Donkin, responded and assessed him to be in cardiac arrest. Although Donkin was a CPR instructor and taught more than 100 classes on the subject, she had never actually performed it in a life-and-death situation prior to this incident.
7/4/2002· Aquatics Safety
Immersion in cold water is a hazard for anyone who participates in recreational, commercial or military activities in the oceans, lakes, and streams of all but the tropical regions of the world. Recreational aquatic activities include swimming, fishing, sailing, power-boating, ocean kayaking, white-water rafting, canoeing, ocean-surfing, wind-surfing, water-skiing, diving, hunting and the use of personal water craft