Accident prevention: keeping campers and staff safe.I've served in camps for 45 consecutive summers. Every major accident could have been avoided. It's easy to remember past accidents and promise vigilance, but how do we sustain our caution, our continuous inspection for safety? How do we obtain a high degree of safety, yet keep all the elements of excitement and fun? How do we make staff members understand the need for safety when every situation dealing with young people is a potential accident? I had to learn through tears, pain, and blood that my job as director is to employ accident prevention throughout camp. Supervise unstructured time Accidents occur during idle or transitional time when campers make their own fun. Campers who finish a fully supervised activity may still have spirit even though counselors are tired. This combination can lead to accidents. * Plan this time like any other. Hold ongoing tournaments, trivia quizzes, or contests. When an activity ends, campers know to gather for the next ongoing activity. * After an exciting or exhausting event, have ready a relatively calm activity that requires minimal active supervision. Lunch or a movie calms campers and gives counselors a chance to step back a moment and regain momentum. * Remind staff how important supervision is during free time. * As you walk around camp, try to hit activities as they finish so you can help staff carefully observe campers' behavior during unstructured and transitional times. * Don't keep campers waiting in long lines In communications, circuits that are capable of handling transmissions over long distances. . Campers push during a long wait, then rush all at once through a narrow door. * Don't call the entire group to an event at once. * Have adequate space for a group to enter and leave an area. Examine games We work on a razor's edge between safe games and unsafe games. * Examine each program for potential dangers or hazards. * Make sure appropriate rules are followed. The need for baseball batters to wear a hard hat and for catchers to wear a face mask Face mask The simplest way of delivering a high level of oxygen to patients with ARDS or other low-oxygen conditions. Mentioned in: Adult Respiratory Distress Syndrome is easily seen, but what safety rules and equipment do you use for cage ball A cage ball is a large, inflated ball, used in many American elementary schools physical education programs. Cage balls typically have a diameter of 48" or 60", though 72" diameter models are available, commercially. (the 3-foot inflatable ball)? Players push, kick, and jump on top of the ball. And as they push and jump on each other, campers can easily fall off the ball. The game is loads of fun and a good tension release, but it takes caution to make it safe. * Think of substitute games or change the rules for games with higher risks of injury. For example, if you let campers play dodge ball dodge ball n. A game in which players on one team try to eliminate players on another by hitting them with an inflated ball. , have a rule that all balls must be thrown with a bounce before hitting the opponent. * Observe games and step in if play escalates beyond safety. For example, a street hockey street hockey n. A variation of ice hockey played on pavement by players wearing shoes or in-line skates and often using a ball instead of a puck. game in which players wear safety equipment becomes a different game altogether when players imitate the "pros" by fighting and cross-checking. Examine facilities and special programs Review your insurance costs. Certain activities, considered to have a higher risk of injury, are surcharged by insurance companies. Horseback riding horseback riding: see equestrianism. , gymnastics gymnastics, exercises for the balanced development of the body (see also aerobics), or the competitive sport derived from these exercises. Although the ancient Greeks (who invented the building called a gymnasium , riflery ri·fle·ry n. 1. The skill and practice of shooting a gun. 2. Rifle fire: the sound of distant riflery. , and scuba diving scuba diving Swimming done underwater with a self-contained underwater-breathing apparatus (scuba), as opposed to skin diving, which requires only a snorkel, goggles, and flippers. Scuba gear was invented by Jacques-Yves Cousteau and Émile Gagnan in 1943. may fall into this category. Give special emphasis to the supervision, equipment, and inspection of the facilities for these activities. Review and evaluate your safety records and accident reports. Do they give the information you need to improve the safety of programs and facilities? Where are accidents happening? What time of day? What types of activities? Ask your insurance agent for suggestions. Increase staff awareness Make your staff accident-aware. Distribute and discuss representative accident reports and safety concerns with staff members at orientation. Ask returning staff to share accidents they have seen and how they would prevent similar incidents. We shared these examples of preventable accidents and corresponding lawsuits: * A softball softball, variant of baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Invented (1888) in Chicago as an indoor game, it was at various times called indoor baseball, mush ball, playground ball, kitten ball, and, because it was also played by women, ladies' hit the catcher, who wasn't wearing a mask, two teeth were knocked out; $300,000. * A ball player slid into third base and twisted an ankle; $1,000,000. * Two campers ran into the gym and collided heads; $1,000,000. * A camper swung a tote bag with a lock inside; it hit another camper in the face and knocked out a tooth; $2,000,000. * A camper walked barefoot and stepped on glass; $10,000. * A camper ran into the dining room, slipped on the wet floor, and hit his head on the table edge; $15,000,000. Discuss accidents at weekly staff meetings during the camp season. Involve the camp nurse. These examples were taken from the medical log and discussed as they occurred. We asked staff if and how each incident could have been prevented. * A camper tripped on uneven ground in a relay race relay race Race between teams in which each team member successively covers a specified portion of the course. In track events, such as the 4 × 100-m and 4 × 400-m relays, the runner finishing one leg passes a baton to the next runner while both are running within . * A camper cut himself in art. * A camper fell playing basketball because of sweat on the floor. * One camper broke another camper's nose in a fight. * A counselor gave a camper a piggyback piggyback 1. A broker trading in his or her personal account after trading in the same security for a customer. The broker may believe the customer has access to privileged information that will cause the transaction to be profitable. 2. ride; the camper fell. * A swimmer hit her head on the side of the swimming pool. * In a camper-counselor volleyball game, a counselor hit the ball at a camper and broke the camper's thumb. * A camper ran into a clothesline anchored between two trees. * A camper fell off the stage during a play. * A camper was stung by bees. Accident prevention leaves no room for passiveness. Review past accidents and the ways they could have been prevented. Actively sensitize sen·si·tize v. To make hypersensitive or reactive to an antigen, such as pollen, especially by repeated exposure. and supervise your staff. Examine your camp's activities and facilities. Above all, build an accident-aware staff to help stop accidents before they happen. Seymour S. Lebenger, P.D., is the director of the Hofstra University Hofstra University (hŏf`strə, hôf`–), at Hempstead, N.Y.; coeducational. Founded as a division of New York Univ. in 1935, it became independent in 1940, and its name was changed to Hofstra College. Summer Camp and assistant dean for youth programs. Formerly, he owned and operated the Timber Lake Timber Lake may refer to:
|
|
||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion