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Aquatic Examiner Service
The American Red Cross Aquatic Examiner Service is designed to ensure the safety of those who use your facility. Because aquatics is a complicated field, with multiple types of state and local regulations to follow, the Aquatic Examiner Service provides an unbiased, expert opinion on your facility’s emergency plans and the skills and knowledge of your lifeguards.
The Examiner Service reduces aquatic injuries by:
- Assisting lifeguards and aquatic facilities in developing their own procedures to prevent and minimize the effects of accidents
- Recognizing hazards
- Responding effectively to emergencies
For more information on the Aquatics Examiner Service:
Program Components
Advantages of the Aquatic Examiner Service
Program Costs
Program Components
We offer three different types of services in which to choose:
Initial Conference
The conference is designed to provide us with an unbiased review of your facility’s lifeguarding operations. This includes:
- Discussion of the type of pool activities and levels of use
- Safety and rescue equipment evaluation and necessary supplies for effective lifeguarding
- A thorough review of your facility’s emergency action plans (EAPs) and documentation used for lifeguards and support staff certification, in-service training, and scheduling
- Checking the emergency communication system for accessibility and proper operation.
The Red Cross Aquatic Examiner will then issue a written report highlighting points of concern and suggestions for improvement. Compliance with these suggestions is solely the responsibility of facility management
Customized Staff Training and Year-round Support
We offer the following types of training programs:
American Red Cross Lifeguard Training courses for those individuals not currently certified as Red Cross lifeguards. You can register your staff at another facility or offer this course at your location. Your facility will then become an Authorized Provider of Red Cross programs and can train your staff in-house as American Red Cross Lifeguarding Instructors.
- Pre-Season Annual Training is conducted at the start of the season, this gives all guards the opportunity to refresh their skills and to come together as a team.
- Advanced Training includes modules that can be added on to Lifeguard Training courses or taught separately.
- The Lifeguard Management course provides additional training in facility and lifeguard management for those in leadership positions. It does not require current lifeguarding certification as a prerequisite. Pre-season training, interview and selection of lifeguards, in-service training, and general supervision skills is included.
- Automated External Defibrillation (AED) Training and Oxygen Administration are two-hour courses that teach specific, life-saving skills not covered in the general Lifeguarding program. Bloodborne Pathogens: Preventing Disease Transmission is a one-hour course that meets the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) guidelines. All are highly recommended.
- In-service Training reviews the steps of the emergency action plan and keeps lifeguarding and CPR skills fresh. In-service training should be scheduled on a regular basis and average about an hour a week. It can be conducted internally by your trained aquatic staff or by American Red Cross staff members.
On-Site Lifeguarding Evaluations
These unannounced visits to your facility by trained Aquatic Examiners include:
- Observations of the lifeguards performing their regular, assigned lifeguarding duties
- A tour of the aquatic facility
- Observations of the aquatic facility operation and equipment related to lifeguard functions
- Skill evaluations of three randomly selected lifeguards in these areas: Deep Water Active or Passive Drowning Victim Rescue; Head, Neck, and Back Injury Skills; and CPR Skills for an Adult, Child, and/or Infant
On-site evaluations are videotaped so you’ll have visual accompaniment to the written report. Feedback can be used during in-service training as well as for specific employee evaluation.
Advantages of the Aquatic Examiner Service
The Aquatic Examiner Service is offered through the Red Cross chapter with the support of the National office. The National Headquarters Risk Management supports all services and training.
The American Red Cross functions as a resource to the aquatic facility. The Examiner Service allows an impartial judgment of the entire facility operation, including skills evaluations of individual lifeguards. The American Red Cross will not revoke the certification of any individual guard for failure to pass the skills evaluation; that decision is left up to facility supervisors.
The Aquatic Examiner Service is staffed by highly trained professionals who are Instructor or Instructor Trainers within the Lifeguard Training Program and are:
- Proficient in skills evaluation, public relations, and pool facility operations management
- Have a minimum of two years of Lifeguarding and Lifeguard Instructor experience
The American Red Cross is a proven program.
With over 90 years of lifeguard training experience and feedback from aquatic professionals at all levels, the program trains over 200,000 lifeguards annually. Over 3.9 million people enroll in American Red Cross Aquatics and Water Safety courses annually.
The courses we offer have optimal participant to instructor ratios. Aquatics courses are scheduled for a maximum of 8 to 10 students per instructor to insure quality instruction, maximum individual feedback, and sufficient opportunity to practice all of the skills. Without close supervision and adequate practice time, skills may not be mastered and retained.
We are a community-based organization sensitive to your needs.
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Active member of the community
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Red Cross staff available to help when you have a need or question
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Books and materials are readily available because they are kept in stock locally
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We help people prevent, prepare for, and response to emergencies every day
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Safety is our top priority
Professionals endorse our programs.
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A panel of medical and professional experts has developed our standards of care
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All of our medical techniques of CPR and First Aid are approved by the Institute of Medicine, the American Medical Association and the Emergency Cardiac Care Committee of the American Heart Association
We design a package of services specifically tailored to meet your needs.
The Examiner Services provides an unbiased, expert opinion that is only intended to evaluate the safety of your facility, its equipment, and the training of its lifeguards. You and your patrons can rest assured that your facility is free of preventable accidents and injuries and that your guards are as sharp as can be.
Program Costs
The Aquatic Examiner Service is an extension of existing services the Red Cross offers the aquatics industry and is designed to complement the American Red Cross Lifeguard Training program.
There are no retainer fees, no hidden fees, and no yearly fees for participating in this program. All facilities that use American Red Cross lifeguard training, schedule an Initial Conference, or contract for On-Site Lifeguarding Evaluations are considered clients.
The services we provide are tailored to meet the specific needs of your facility—and you only pay for the modules you need. All equipment needed for training is included. There is no annual licensing fee.
Contat Information
American Red Cross of Greater Chicago
Rauner Center
2200 W. Harrison
Chicago, IL 60612
Customer Service: (312) 729-6132
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