StarGuard Curriculum Outline

Prevention

• The importance of early intervention.
• The drowning process.
• The components of aquatic risk management.
• Risk factors in an aquatic environment.
• Strategies to reduce risk.
• Effective techniques for rule enforcement.
• How to give directions to a crowd.
• How to reduce risk during swim skill testing.
• The importance of scene safety and body substance isolation.
• The concept of Universal Precautions and use of Personal Protection Equipment.
• Common Recreational Water Illnesses (RWI) and modes of transmission.
• Techniques for exposure control and bodily fluid clean up.
• The importance of patron education to prevent RWI.
• Objectives and parameters of swim skill testing.
• Electrical safety guidelines.
• How to monitor severe weather conditions.
• The importance of hazard identification.

• Rule enforcement
• Bodily substance isolation and biohazard clean-up
• Hazard identification
• Swim skill testing

Surveillance

• The importance of constant, dedicated surveillance.
• The RID Factor.
• Zones and areas of responsibility.
• Distress and drowning behaviors.
• The importance of early recognition.

• Victim Recognition Training
• 3-D Triage scanning
• 5-Minute Scanning Strategy
• Scanning patterns
• Pro-active rotation

Aquatic Rescue (responsive and unresponsive)

• Use of basic rescue equipment for land based assists.
• The advantages of using a rescue tube for in-water rescue.
• The minimum equipment that should be at any aquatic facility.
• Adjunct equipment that may be at an aquatic facility.
• The importance of communication signals.
• The STAAR aquatic rescue model.
• How to manage multiple victim rescues.
• Mechanisms of spinal injury.
• Symptoms of spinal injury.
• Objectives of spinal injury management.
• Objectives of in-water stabilization.
• Objectives of backboarding and extrication.
• Site-specific adaptations for backboarding.
• Steps of emergency response and Sequence of Survival
• Importance of early activation of EMS

• Front rescue
• Rear rescue
• Two-guard rescue
• Leg-wrap rescue
• Multiple victim rescue.
• Emergency escape.
• Ease in entry.
• Compact jump entry.
• Vice-grip
• Spinal roll
• Two-person backboarding
• Team backboarding.
• Standing Take-Down, land and water

Emergency Care (responsive and unresponsive)

• Objectives of unresponsive victim extrication.
• Rescue protocols based on latest CPR guidelines.
• Objectives of In-water airway management.
• Objectives of in-water rescue breathing.
• Precautions to minimize movement and priority of care if spinal injury is suspected in an unresponsive person.
• Objectives and safety considerations of adjunct equipment
• Warning signs and symptoms of illness: allergic reaction,  seizure, stroke, heart attack, insulin shock, diabetic coma, hypothermia,  heat exhaustion, heat stroke, dehydration, vomiting and fainting.
• Warning signs and symptoms of injury: sprain, fracture, eye, dental, burns.
• Bleeding control sequence.

• Create an Emergency Action Plan
• Calling EMS (9-1-1)
• First aid care for illness
• First aid care for injury
• First aid care for bleeding
• Rescue Breathing for child, adult, infant
• CPR for infant, adult, child (1-person)
• CPR for infant, adult, child (2-person)
• Use of suction device
• Use of Bag-Valve-Mask
• Use of Automated External Defibrillator (AED)
• Use of Emergency Oxygen

Professionalism and Personal Safety

• Personal safety risks present while working in an aquatic environment.
• Techniques to minimize personal risks for illness or injury.
• Lifeguard responsibilities.
• Lifeguard Best Practices.
• Skin cancer prevention strategies.
• Fitness principles.
• The importance of being a role model.
• How to make decisions and adapt skills to the situation.

• StarGuard Best Practices

Additional Waterpark module objectives

• Risk factors of play features (slides, wave pools, winding river currents, free-form water areas, children’s play structures.
• Strategies for minimizing risk in waterpark settings.
• Objectives of slide dispatch; play feature rule enforcement.
• Wave and current action effects on swimmers.
• Scanning strategies for wave pools, winding rivers, play structures, slide catch-pools and run-outs.
• Common communication signals used in waterparks (i.e. flags, E-stop management, etc).
• Recognition of distress symptoms in slide catch pools, shotgun slides, wave pools, play structures, etc.

• Manage an in-water rescue of responsive victim in moving water (i.e. wave action, current).
• Minimize movement, backboard and extricate a suspected spinal injury victim from moving water, slide trough, and zero depth area.
• Manage an in-water rescue and extrication of an unresponsive victim in moving water (i.e. wave action, current).

Additional Waterfront module objectives

• Risk factors in a waterfront environment
• Strategies for minimizing risk in a waterfront setting.
• Surveillance techniques for turbid water.
• Search and rescue techniques.
• Components of a missing person Emergency Action Plan.
• Objectives of safe beach entries and extrication.
• Common surveillance and communication equipment used in waterfront settings (i.e. binoculars, two-way radios, air horns, flags, PA systems, etc)
• Use of surveillance/rescue watercraft.
• Considerations for long EMS response times.

• Manage an in-water rescue of responsive victim in the waterfront environment.
• Minimize movement, backboard and extricate a suspected spinal injury victim from a waterfront area.
• Manage an in-water rescue and extrication of an unresponsive victim in a waterfront environment.
• Execute a missing person EAP and perform a bottom search and rescue of the swim area.

Additional Wilderness module objectives

• Wilderness aquatic recreation risk factors.
• Considerations for site screening.
• Considerations for stream crossings.
• Components of safety briefings for remote aquatic recreation participants.
• Considerations for conducting skills screening.
• Improvising rescue equipment.
• ERPS Rescue protocol: Extend, Ropes, Paddle, Swim
• Spinal injury management objectives in the wilderness environment.
• Common wilderness aquatic injuries and illnesses.
• Help and Huddle for survival.
• Special wilderness rescue considerations.

• Manage an in-water rescue of conscious victim in the wilderness environment.
• Minimize movement, and extricate a suspected spinal injury victim from a wilderness area.
• Manage an in-water rescue and extrication of an unresponsive victim in a wilderness environment.
• Conduct a site survey and safety briefing.