With what I witnessed in this community I feel the biggest risk in this would be related to all the parks in this environment. The risk for drowning would particularly be present because with all activities on the lake and having no professional life guarding present. Therefore, this is a potential emergency site. 
Those who are near drowning will not be able to call for help, so its important for monitoring during water activities. Symptoms can include: cyanosis, chest pain, no breathing, unconsciousness, and abdominal distention. (Medline Plus, 2013) As a public health nurse I would try to educate and promote community awareness to have skilled professionals near the lakes, including the proper teaching in CPR basic life support. By being precautions and having upstream thinking we could try to prevent deaths and save lives. Something already in this community that is an excellent resource a PHN could promote would be the Code Red program, which is a medical emergency alert system that contacts the entire city within minutes (City of Lake Elmo, 2012).
Refrences
City-Data. (2012). Lake elmo minnesota. Retrieved from http://www.city-data.com/city/Lake-Elmo-Minnesota.html
City of Lake Elmo. (2012). Public safty and parks . Retrieved from http://www.lakeelmo.org/
Medline Plus. (2013, January 14). Drowning . Retrieved from http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/medlineplus.html
Jillian,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your post and thought that it was nicely organized. I agree that this area poses a definite threat for drowning. I was shocked to learn that you could die in 1-2 inches of water! In the past when I thought of my future as a nurse I never thought about any topics related to public health. As this school year goes on it is interesting to learn more about public health nursing and the types of situations they assess and think about each day. What really stuck out about your post to me was the idea of alcohol-related drownings.
Outdoor activities such as boating and skiing are a huge part of the Wisconsin lifestyle..as is drinking. When these two activities are combined that can create a dangerous and deadly situations. Although we can not prevent every accident from occurring we can be proactive in our attempts to keep people safer. As a nurse it is our job to inform our patients about these risks and teach them ways to prevent harmful situations.
Educating people about the dangers of these type of situations can be helpful but safety measures can also be implemented. One way to cut down on accidents would be to limit the number of hours that the lake is open. Also having trained professionals; lifeguards, police officers, EMTS on site could be useful if a dangerous situation or an accident did arise. Prohibiting the use of alcohol on the premisise could help to cut down on alcohol related accidents.
These type of situations happen all the time and it is important that as future nurses we take a stand to try and put a stop to them. The topic of alcohol-related accidents that hits home for me. Living on the UWSP campus there have been several incidents of students drinking at the bars and wandering into the Wisconsin River. In December of 2012 there was a student who drown in the river the night of his 21st birthday. I remember receiving several text alerts about a missing person and search parties being assembled. Unfortunately these efforts were not enough and he was found dead. Using upstream thinking, like you mentioned in the post, and trying to prevent these tragic accidents before they happen is the direction nurses need to lead their patients in.
Jillian, I enjoyed reading your post about Lake Elmo. It seems like the name of this community itself gives a direct idea on what this city is centered around and known for. With water and outdoor recreational activities serving as the foundation for this city, I agree that these types of activities occur with many risks involved. It is critical that this community is educated on the risks of being engaged in certain activities. It is also important that public health professionals find their role in implementing and improving safety in this city.
ReplyDeleteI think that the number one step I would take to implementing a safety plan in Lake Elmo would be to expand safety personnel. Whether it is training and hiring a set number of lifeguards to be on duty or appointing professionals to teach about boating safety, this city needs to have this type of support to minimize injuries and even deaths. Another option may be to offer complementary CPR training led by Public Health Nurses in high school for students to take along with their other courses. This could improve “field safety” in such a small community. Even putting up a set of guidelines on the beaches for swimming in the lakes or putting up “swim at own risk- no lifeguard on duty” may be enough for community members to understand the risks and know their limits.
Finally, education to parents is another key aspect to improving community safety. Parents should have a basic understanding of CPR basic life support and implement it when necessary. It is also critical that when families are enjoying time on the boat or other outdoor activities to watch alcohol intake to improve individual safety and the safety of their children. Another key aspect for parents is to set an example and teach their children to wear a life-jacket when boating. According to the article, “92% of boating-related drowning victims were either not wearing a PFD or life jacket or were wearing one incorrectly” (Lewis, 2004). Even a simple change of wearing a life jacket can greatly decrease a traumatic outcome in a boating accident. Ultimately education, expanded safety personnel, setting examples, and improved “field safety” are a few ways in which I would implement improving safety in this multi-recreational community.
References
Lewis, J. (2004). Boating in the wisconsin north woods. Retrieved from http://www.wisconsinnorthwoodsliving.com/boatingsafety.htm
As Amber and Hannah said above, water sports and drinking are part of being in Wisconsin. However, creating a distinct separation between the two is vital in keeping people safe. Where I grew up, we have many small lakes around and nothing else to do, so I can definitely relate to this problem of drinking and drowning.
ReplyDeleteI also believe that education is a main aspect of keeping people safe. I think that people of Wisconsin are used to being around water so much that we tend to forget how seriously dangerous it can be. An effective way to keep people safe is for public nurses to get involved with the community and educate or remind everyone how to act safe around water and what to do in the case of an emergency. I feel like the best time to educate people would be the middle of May and into the summer months, however, there is also the need to educate about winter sports involving water and this could begin around late October.
Some convenient locations to educate the community would be in the local schools or community centers. I agree that putting up signs around each body of water would be a good reminder to the community that they need to act with caution and prepare a plan in case something would go wrong. Some sign ideas could be cautioning that there is no lifeguard on duty and that a life jacket needs to be worn at all times.
Jillian, I think you hit on a very prevalent disaster in the community that you researched. In the summer months there are most likely many people including small children around the lake doing some sort of recreational activity. There would also be college-aged people on the lake that might be under the influence and have impaired judgment; which is very risky being on the water. It is scary to think that a person can drown in just a few minutes without making a sound.
ReplyDeleteI found a very good site that lists many ideas that public health nurses could use in educating the community to lower the risk of drowning during water recreation activity. These included knowing your swimming ability, having staff on duty to supervise the swimmers, taking special precautions with consumers who have seizure conditions, making sure floatation devices are being used properly, and having designated areas to swim in and making sure no one is swimming outside of those boundaries (2010). These are just some of the many things to touch on when educating a community on being safe around a lake or any source of water. I think it would also be smart to bring these points to schools in high-risk areas to educate the children at a young age. This way they have a knowledge base about why it is wrong to go in the water without your parent or much older sibling.
DDS SafetyNet. (2010). Preventing Drowning Accidents. Retrieved from
http://www.ddssafety.net/content/preventing-drowning-accidents
Jillian,
ReplyDeleteIn reading your post and comments following, I did some searching on how to prevent drowning accidents. Many of the suggestions I found have been already mentioned by the others: avoiding alcohol, utilizing lifeguards, wearing a life jacket, and learning CPR. However, one suggestion that I came across that I was personally unfamiliar with is the prevention of Shallow Water Blackout (SWB).
According to the Shallow Water Blackout Prevention Organization (SWBPO) (n.d.), SWB “can affect ANYONE who holds his or her breath while swimming or practicing breath-holding underwater”. Unfortunately the organization also acknowledged that underwater breath-holding and underwater swimming have been proudly practiced, taught, and accepted by coaches, military trainers, and lifeguards for decades. Breath-holding contests, games, and records are also commonly promoted and encouraged.
One would think that drowning victims as those who are unable to swim and in deep water but “a recent series of deaths of healthy, athletic males, ages 15-26 years, all of whom were capable to strong swimmers, but yet who died in shallow water often near the side of the pool, suggests that common victims of SWB tend to be male swimmers who engage in underwater breath-holding contests for time or distance” (“Shallow Water Blackout,” 2011). Although pools are the most common, the SWBPO emphasizes that it can occur in any lake, ocean, or body of water, regardless of water depth.
The SWBPO explains that in order to hold their breath longer, people will voluntarily hyperventilate to increase their lung capacity. By doing so, it forces the carbon dioxide out of the lungs and thus lowers the lung CO2 level. Our brain is triggered by CO2 to return to the surface and with low CO2 levels “our bodies are robbed of their built-in mechanism to protect us and tell us to breathe before unconsciousness happens”.
The Aquatic Safety Research Group (2011), adds that once submerged underwater, the swimmer is hidden from lifeguards by the surface glare and ripples on the surface.
Essentially the only way to eliminate the risk is educating individuals on the dangers of breath-holding. For those who continue to practice, the SWBPO offers suggestions to avoid SWB. These suggestions include “one breath-hold, one time, one lap, only” and never hyperventilate. Also, because lifeguards shouldn’t be relied on, a buddy should always be next to you to ensure you are okay.
By promoting the dangers of breath-holding through signs and education, these simple strategies could help save the lives in not only this community but everywhere.
References
Aquatic Safety Resarch Group. (2011). Shallow water blackout.
Retrieved from http://www.aquaticsafetygroup.com/ShallowWaterBlackout.
html
Shallow water blackout prevention organization. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://shallowwaterblackoutprevention.org/about-swb/
According to the CDC, 43% of unintentional drowning occurred in natural bodies of water in 2007 (CDC, 2007). I think you have a valid point to be concerned with dangers of drowning near Lake Elmo when there is no one around to provide basic life support if necessary. I could not find any past history with drowning at Lake Elmo but I do not believe that its possibility should be taken lightly. I feel as though in any situation in life it would be beneficial to a community to have everyone be certified in basic life support. I do not see a reason why people shouldn’t be or why people wouldn’t want to know the basics to saving a life. I am frequently used to seeing signs along unmonitored lakes stating to “swim at your own risk”, which I feel can be an effective warning to an alert adult, however does little for children unable to read. When you mentioned drowning risks for Lake Elmo, my mind went straight to drowning from a swimming incident, however other drowning risks such as boating accidents and broken ice could be other causes. I think it would be difficult to provide staff who were willing to monitor the shoreline, but I think informing people to exercise caution while near the lake is an important message to get across to community members.
ReplyDeleteCenter for Disease Control and Prevention. (2007). Drowning risks in natural water settings. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/features/dsdrowningrisks/