“Phone, keys, wallet.”

“Phone, keys, wallet.”

I repeat those three things while tapping at my pockets all day long. I don’t go anywhere without the three. Even when I’m at home I know precisely where my phone is at all times. I didn’t know it until today, but there is no doubt that I am the very definition of a nomophobe. And according to a new study conducted in the UK, there is a very good chance that you — and 66% of your closest family, friends, and co-workers — are too.

If you haven’t pieced it together just yet, nomophobia is the fear of being without mobile contact. Four years ago, 53% of respondents said they had a fear of being separated from their phone. Today, that number is up to 66%.

While I’m not convinced that anyone actually believes that the 66% of self-proclaimed nomophobes experience fear to the same degree as those experiencing agoraphobia, arachnophobia, or claustrophobia; I do think everyone should take note of this trend and think about the impact it will have on the way we conduct our day-to-day lives.

The Four Worst Kinds of Nomophobes

I am a nomophobe. But as someone who makes a living by being constantly connected to mobile networks, I almost have to be. These four groups of people, on the other hand, don’t make very good nomophobes.

1. People that Watch Young Kids

Nomophobic childcare providers, babysitters, and parents should scare you. We all know that an unsupervised child can get into trouble in the blink of an eye. There are countless stories throughout this website that detail just how poorly things can turn out when someone in charge of watching a child gets distracted.

If you supervise a staff that watches over children, or if you are a parent that entrusts someone else to watch your own kids, you need to make sure you aren’t dealing with a nomophobe. Someone with an itch to use Twitter, Facebook, or texting all day long probably doesn’t belong in such an important position. In fact, a new study suggests that an increase in adults using smartphones may be a key reason we’re starting to see the number of childhood injuries increase after several years of decline.

2. Lifeguards

Nomophobes make lousy lifeguards. This video explains why:

3. Drivers

Texting while driving is one of the most visited pages on Culture of Safety. This is probably due to the fact that distracted driving impacts absolutely everyone. Unfortunately, there isn’t much you can do to keep nomophobes from driving their own vehicles. What you can do, however, is put your own phone down and be extra vigilant when you are behind the wheel. Remember; doing anything while driving can be distracting. And no, Siri isn’t the answer.

4. Kids

The study on nomophobia indicates that 77% of people between the ages of 18 and 24 claim to worry constantly about losing their phones. No information about minors was gathered in the study, but based on purely anecdotal evidence, I think it is safe to assume that a similar number of kids and teens are worried about being without their phones texting machines.

What kind of impact does this trend have on social development and education? It is hard to say for sure. What we do know is that constant connectivity appears to be having a profound, negative impact on the incidences of bullying and cyber-bullying. Educators, youth program coordinators, coaches, summer camp counselors, and anyone else that works with kids need to start developing tools to identify and address nomophobia. After all, the younger generation will someday be our childcare providers, lifeguards, and drivers. Then what?

This brand new Lifeguard Commandment video addresses the importance of lifeguards always being “Rescue Ready”, which is a major theme in the New York Times article. For beach lifeguards, the winter months are a time when they need to be extra vigilant in maintaining their fitness. If guards, young or old, let themselves go physically during the off season they could potentially put swimmers at risk when the season starts back up in the summer months.

And while the winter offseason may be a difficult test of a beach lifeguard’s dedication and commitment, it can also be an enormous benefit to have time to refocus and reenergize.

Indoor lifeguards, on the other hand, aren’t often given this opportunity, which makes the tips we share in this new video so important. Lifeguarding can be monotonous and tiring, especially during the slower months like November and December. Just one bad day of a guard not being rescue ready can cost a swimmer their life.

So, if you are a lifeguard or aquatics director, make sure you watch the video and always take steps to be rescue ready. And, if you aren’t a lifeguard, it is still a good  idea to watch the video so you know how to identify a bad lifeguard next time you visit a pool or beach.

More Information on Aging and Rescue Readiness

If you enjoyed the New York Times article or the new Lifeguard Commandment video, you may also enjoy some of these other resources:

• Lifeguarding: How Old is Too Old? - A blog post on the legal ramifications of age discrimination against lifeguards.
• Not Rescue Ready - A collection of photos and personal accounts from a lifeguard instructor in Northern California.

As it stands now, there are a lot of questions surrounding the entire ordeal. In this post we’re only going to focus on one question:

Should lifeguards and other CPR-trained staff step aside and allow guests who claim to be medical professionals perform lifesaving techniques?

Loss prevention, claims, and legal associates from West Bend got together this morning to discuss this very difficult question. We started the brainstorming session by identifying two different scenarios. In order to assess the liability questions surrounding this story, the five-year-old girl dies in both scenarios. The two scenarios are:

1. Lifeguards arrive and allow the doctor and nurse to continue providing care.
2. Lifeguards arrive and prevent the doctor and nurse from continuing to provide care.

Once we had the two scenarios laid out, the question was: Which case would we, as an insurance carrier, rather defend from a liability standpoint? Now before we continue with this discussion, we want to make it very clear that we obviously would prefer to never see a drowning occur; the reality is, however, that these things happen, and addressing aquatics policies and procedures often comes down to matters of liability.

After some debate, everyone was in agreement that we would much rather see a lifeguard or other member of the staff allow a medical professional to take over. The obvious rebuttal to this is, “But how do you know that someone is actually a doctor, nurse, or EMT?” We are confident that most people in most circumstances would not falsely claim to be a professional, and for this reason, we give these people the benefit of the doubt.

Insight from an Aquatics Professional

We recognize, however, that insurance carriers may view these kinds of scenarios with a different lens than a full-time aquatics professional, so we spoke with Bonnie Griswold, a lifelong water safety advocate, trainer, and supervisor. Bonnie is currently an instructor at the University of Wisconsin, and was a member of the American Red Cross National Technical and Educational Advisory Development Team for the revision of the current Lifeguarding materials and for the 2009 release of the Water Safety Instructor (WSI) program.

After sharing the details of the drowning that took place at Atlantis Resort and Casino in the Bahamas, we asked Bonnie what she would expect from her own lifeguard crew. Without hesitation, Mrs. Griswold indicated that in every scenario, she would hope her lifeguards would step aside and allow someone claiming to be a medical professional to take over.

She says, “You always make room for the person with the highest level of training.” And with that in mind, she brought up another excellent point: lifeguards have more training in water rescues than a doctor or nurse. So, if a swimmer is in distress and a doctor is present, the lifeguard takes the lead until the victim is safely on land, and then the doctor takes over from there.

My 9-year-old son asked me the other day how many kids drown, and when I told him one every minute he asked, “Then why isn’t everyone talking about it?” Good point. If a 9-year-old gets it immediately, why doesn’t everyone?

So let’s get people talking. How?

Ask Oprah

Ask Oprah to dedicate a show to childhood drowning. Join us in sending official requests to her by February 14. “Us” includes everyone from the Australian Surf Life Savers to a bunch of Navy SEALs. We hail from a range of countries from Argentina to New Zealand. We’re olympic swimmers, swim schools, Channel Swimmers. We’re doctors, aquatics professionals, concerned parents and devoted grandparents. Join us to save kids’ lives.

I know it’s a tight deadline, but community organizations can help in a number of ways. You can:

• Share a link on an official Facebook page
• Tweet about it
• Hand out a card with the link to all of the parents in swim classes
• E-mail blast a mailing list

We truly are getting an international response and as one of the most respected and long-standing of American institutions, having a ‘shout out’ from the swim clubs and their patrons would be a huge help. Most people act within 24-hours of getting an electronic request, so let’s make this last week really count!

Simply click on this link to ask Oprah to showcase this issue:

https://www.oprah.com/ownshow/plug_form.html?plug_id=216

My Submission

Here’s what I submitted (stats from www.ilsf.org and other sources), but feel free to put your own perspective in there:

One child drowns every minute across the globe. 600,000 children per year. An estimated 3-4 children almost drown every minute and are permanently impaired.

Drowning is as serious a threat to childhood mortality as many diseases, and it is entirely preventable. I believe we need a global strategy to address the issue and local solutions to address cultural and geographic differences. I believe that the joy of water needs to be recognized and embraced, and that children must be taught a positive and safe relationship with water from infancy if drowning rates are to drop. We need to change how we relate to the water, permanently.

Thank you for considering putting childhood drowning as a subject of a show – I know of no one but Oprah who could make such an immediate impact on an issue which affects all of us. Too much has been fear and guilt and the statistics haven’t changed – we need to bring empowerment and joy and positive change if we want our children to be safe.

This was a guest blog from Rebecca Robinson. Take a look at her previous posts.

Rebecca will be guest blogging for West Bend on a regular basis. We thought the best way to kick off her guest blogging experience would be an interview so all you of could learn a little bit more about her. Check out her personal blog at Rebecca Saves Kids.

Tell us a little bit about yourself and your role in drowning prevention.

I come from drowning prevention in an unusual way. The issue is dominated by aquatic, and health and safety professionals at one end of the spectrum, and parents who have lost a child at the other, tragic, end. I am neither.

I have a pure business background (MBA and a MS in Organizational and Social Psychology), but I am also a mom and have always been passionate about helping kids. Three years ago, when I learned about what a big problem drowning was, it clicked and it became my life’s purpose.

Looking at the issue from my unusual angle, and after extensive research, I believe that we need to permanently change how we relate to the water. Water is a fact of life and it can be a source of great joy as well as a danger. Respect and water safety need to be taught, while celebrating the joy, to both children and adults until it becomes ingrained and permanently changes our actions.

The analogy I like to use is: we teach children how to cross the street safely; we don’t ban cars.

If we reach this generation of children, they will grow up to be safer adults and will teach their own children. I believe this is the only way that the drowning rates will permanently drop.

If you could tell a young lifeguard three things, what would say?

1. You are in a position worthy of great respect. You risk your life to save the lives of those around you every day. Having a lifeguard at a pool or beach is the equivalent of putting a firefighter in every front yard. Be proud of what you do.
2. Talk to the kids and parents. Help them to understand your position and to understand that you are not a babysitter, you are a paid public safety professional. Children are looking for positive role models, be one.
3. When you’re on, you’re on. Leave anything electronic or diverting in the office. [Editor note: Check out our latest Lifeguard Commandment Video – No Texting

What can swim clubs do in 2011 to protect young swimmers?

I’d love to see all aquatic facilities use some of their existing programs to teach children about basic water safety, outside of the pool. Water safety should be included in summer camp, Indian Guides, day care, child drop-off centers, and any number of classes offered to kids. Use one program with consistent, age-appropriate, repetitive messages starting with kids as young as one. It will not only make children safer, but it will give them a further positive association with the club. After all, a child who feels someone cares about their safety feels loved and included.

About the Author: Rebecca Robinson

Rebecca was born and raised in the United States, lived in the UK and France for 10 years, and has traveled extensively across the globe. She has a Master’s Degree in Management from Northwestern University as well as a Master’s in Organizational and Social Psychology from the London School of Economics. Today, she makes her home with her two children in her hometown of Chicago.

Global water safety for children has been Rebecca’s passion and she can’t wait to get up every day to work at it. She combines a love of statistics with a mother’s passion, and a tenacious commitment to making the right change happen. Rebecca believes that we need both a global strategy to address the issue of water safety and drowning prevention, and local solutions to address cultural and geographic differences.

If you have any questions for Rebecca, we encourage you to leave a comment below.

Amongst all of this chaos it is easy to lose sight of one of the most important elements of lifeguarding… maintaining up-to-date lifeguard certification. Read on to find out ways your fellow lifeguard coordinators are keeping everything organized.

Tips for Easier Lifeguard Certification Management

While all of the hiring and scheduling can be stressful, most supervisors tough it out and start the season with a full staff. Unfortunately, the really difficult job is just beginning. How can you track different certifications, for different lifeguards, with differing lengths of service, and entirely different availability?

Batch Lifeguard Certification

In our opinion, the most efficient and foolproof method for avoiding a lapse in lifeguard certification is batch training… especially when it comes to designations that need to be renewed on an annual basis.

Batch lifeguard certification works by scheduling one or two mandatory certification events each year. For example, you know every lifeguard must renew their American Red Cross CPR and First-Aid certification each year. Rather than rushing to get Anne recertified in February and Bill recertified in April, why not get them both recertified at the same time?

Requiring all lifeguards – or any staff member for that matter – to refresh their certifications on either June 1st or January 1st, for example, ensures that no schedule juggling will be necessary. You know that if a lifeguard misses the CPR and First-Aid training in June, then they absolutely must take it in January.

Many lifeguard managers have expressed that batch certification can be a contentious topic for the first year or two, as many lifeguards don’t like the restrictive nature of only one or two time slots. We recommend explaining just how important maintaining an active cert is, and in time, most lifeguards will jump on board.

Repeating Email Reminders

Whether or not you decide to implement batch lifeguard certification, we strongly suggest using automatically repeating email event reminders. The basic idea is to give yourself and members of your staff an extra warning before lifeguarding or CPR/First-Aid certifications begin to expire.

As a lifeguard management best practice, the aquatic safety experts at West Bend recommend that email reminders be set at three-month and one-month increments. Even if you decide to do batch recertification, an email reminder should be set up for every certification for every lifeguard. This means a lifeguard should have at least two reminders set up, one for the American Red Cross or YMCA Lifeguarding/AED certification, and the other for the CPR and First-Aid component.

Not sure how to setup a repeating email reminder for calendar events on your computer? Here are some basic how-to guides for Outlook, Gmail, and iCal.

Other Ideas from Lifeguard Managers

For even more ideas from lifeguard managers from across the world, we encourage you to check out the online discussion on AIConnect, an online community for aquatics professionals by Aquatics International Magazine.

What works for you? Share your successes with others in the comments section!

Jenn is an attorney with West Bend’s specialty lines division. In addition to handling employment practices liability claims, Jenn works on property, liability and crime policy claims.

Age Discrimination

The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA) protects against age-related employment discrimination for persons aged 40 or over. Other age discrimination laws include:

• Older Workers Benefit Protection Act of 1990 – Entitles workers over age 40 to the same benefits as younger workers
• Age Discrimination Act of 1975 — Prohibits age discrimination against workers of all ages in federally-funded companies.

Some states have enacted their own versions of the ADEA which may apply to people both over and under age 40 who are victims of age discrimination in the workplace.

The ADEA’s protections apply to employees and job applicants who have been discriminated against based on age in any term, condition, or privilege of employment — such as hiring, firing, promotion, layoff, compensation, benefits, job assignments, and training.

An employment policy or practice that applies to everyone, regardless of age, may potentially violate the ADEA if it has a negative impact on older employees or applicants, and is not based on a reasonable non-age factor. Employers are, however, allowed to set age requirements for employment only if they can establish that age is a “bona fide occupational requirement.”

Bona Fide Occupational Requirements

Bona fide occupational requirements arise in situations where the employee’s age in itself is a vital requirement of a job. This may manifest in forced retirement ages for persons in high-risk safety positions such as commercial jet airline pilots; or in situations where the age of the person is required for truthful artistic representation of a certain age – such as in the careers of models, actors, dancers, or voice-over performers. While thirty-something actress Jennifer Love-Hewitt recently played a high-school girl on television, if the producers of Law and Order SVU had decided not to hire her because of her age, they would have been well within their right to do so under the ADEA as a bona fide occupational requirement.

Now, about lifeguards – there does not seem to be any bona fide occupational requirement for lifeguards to be under a certain age. Lifeguards must pass rigorous physical and skills tests in order to keep their jobs. No matter a person’s age over 40, as long as that lifeguard can pass the tests, keep physically fit, and do his or her job, they should be allowed to do so. About 20 years ago, there was a news story about a lifeguard in California who retired from the active lifeguarding service at age 64 – this after fighting and winning an age discrimination battle when he was even younger than that.

Age-Based Harassment

The ADEA also protects against age-based harassment, or seriously offensive remarks. The ADEA does not prohibit simple teasing, offhand comments, or isolated, minor incidents. Age-based comments may become an ADEA issue when they are so frequent, blatant, or severe that they create a hostile environment for the employee, or when the teasing itself results in the employee being fired or demoted. Along those lines, an employer may not threaten, harass, or retaliate against a person for opposing harassment or discriminatory employment practices, or for filing an age discrimination charge, testifying, or participating in any way in an ADEA proceeding.

Jenn, along with all of West Bend’s in-house legal counsel, are available to any West Bend speciality lines insurance policyholder. Reach out to your independent insurance agent for contact information.

Picture this – a possible spinal victim is floating lifelessly in the shallow water of the pool. Lifeguards respond immediately by activating the Emergency Action Plan (EAP). The victim is backboarded and an ambulance can be heard in the distance. As the victim is transported from the pool deck to the ambulance, EMS workers hit a snag. The backboard won’t fit through the building’s entrance!  After several minutes searching for keys to a back gate, staffers were able to get the victim in to the ambulance. Luckily, this entire scenario was simply an in-service training. The management staff and lifeguards learned a very valuable lesson before anyone was actually injured.

Is your staff prepared to activate and implement your emergency action plan from start to finish? Have you involved local EMS and police enforcement?

An EAP should be the proactive guide for staff to follow in the unexpected and sudden event of an accident or injury that must be dealt with urgently. It also acts as evidence of responsible care. Unless all of the pieces are in place, however, it may not act as the risk management plan that was anticipated.

Consider how you can coordinate the pieces of an EAP:

EMERGENCY

Personnel, communication, and equipment are three important components of the EAP.

• Personnel – Think beyond the scope of typical emergency personnel who include lifeguards, head lifeguards, and managers, to include concession or front desk staff, maintenance, coaches, local EMS, law enforcement, the gas and electric company, and even your chemical supply company. Is everyone on the same page?
• Communication – An effective communication system must be in place and should be used during an incident to notify other lifeguards, as well as EMS, fire, or law enforcement. What’s the process for the lifeguard team to follow for an act of violence? What if there’s no emergency phone available on the pool deck when the manager’s office is locked?
• Equipment – Any member of the lifeguard team involved in an emergency must be comfortable with the equipment available in a rescue situation. Does your in-service training require each member of your aquatic safety team personally hande the new AED? Does each member of the team know the location of the oxygen tank, body fluid spill kit, or fire extinguishers?

ACTION

With the pieces of personnel, communication, and rescue equipment in place, you can gear your pre-employment testing, orientation, and in-services to the EAP’s desired outcome. You must remember lifeguards have a duty to act in an emergency. So they can be successful performing these actions, your facility must:

• Implement a screening process that includes a practical evaluation of skills and knowledge. The evaluation becomes even more critical if the lifeguards you hired have been trained by different organizations. How deep were the pools in which your lifeguards trained? Are they prepared to make a rescue in the deepest part of your pool?
• Design an orientation for the lifeguards so they’ll understand their responsibilities and your expectations. New lifeguards should not be expected to learn as they go.
• Define roles and responsibilities for each type of emergency, whether it’s a tornado warning, an injury, sudden illness, missing person, or drowning victim.
• Create informative, challenging, and engaging in-service training that will enhance your lifeguard team’s knowledge, skills, and enthusiasm. Bring in guest speakers or hold a competition between your lifeguards. Conduct simulated emergencies involving other agencies, such as EMS.
• Establish responsibilities after the lifeguard team has responded to an emergency in completing reports, checking equipment, and dealing with questions, as well as evaluating the effectiveness of the plan so revisions can be made, if necessary.

PLAN

As aquatic professionals and supervisors, you put together the EAP with the personnel, communication system, and rescue equipment appropriate for your facility. You should spend your efforts making sure the aquatic safety team is qualified, knowledgeable, and competent in carrying out their duties to act with the pre-employment training orientation and in-services you’ve provided so their actions produce the highest standard of care.

Take a look at your Emergency Action Plan. Does it cover the unexpected?