If your lifeguards’ vision prevents them from clearly seeing their scanning zone, they are less likely to recognize a patron in distress and will not have the chance to use any of the previously mentioned skills. Put another way, if you knew one of your lifeguards could not see the expressions on the faces of the patrons in their scanning zone, would you let them lifeguard? The answer, of course, is that no manager would let a lifeguard into the chair without that essential ability. So the real question operators should ask themselves is, “How do I know if my lifeguards can see?”

Since 1995, the Park District Risk Management Agency (PDRMA) has been involved in a lifeguard vision-screening program developed in conjunction with the Visual Fitness Institute (VFI). PDRMA, a self-insurance risk pool comprised of 150 park and recreation agencies in Illinois, represents 135 separate aquatics facilities, which employ about 2,000 seasonal lifeguards.

In 2004, approximately 40 percent of PDRMA member facilities participated in the vision-screening program. As a result, almost 1,250 lifeguards had their vision tested. Failure rates ranged from 0 at many venues to eight at a 50-lifeguard facility. The average failure rate was four percent. In other words, about one in 25 lifeguards did not have the minimum requirement of 20/30 uncorrected or corrected vision. (The 20/30 minimum standard is what police officers and firefighters use.)

The program developed by VFI is convenient and easy to use. It costs around $3 per lifeguard and can be administered by the facility manager or supervisor. Here’s how it works: An updated order form is sent to all PDRMA members in the early spring of each season. The facilities order the screening kit directly from VFI. The kit contains instructions, vision charts, a wall mounting hook, and a 10-foot measuring device.

There are three different versions of the chart so the answers cannot be memorized. The chart is hung on the wall 10 feet from the lifeguard. The lifeguard keeps both eyes open and reads the lowest line possible on the chart. The manager, who does not know the correct answers, circles the lowest line on the vision chart the lifeguard can read.

Once the test is completed for all lifeguards, the vision charts are mailed to VFI for scoring. The staff at VFI interprets the charts and notifies the manager of any failures, typically within 48 hours. The manager notifies lifeguards who fail and advises them to see their own eye care practitioner. A follow-up note is needed from the eye care practitioner verifying the lifeguard’s vision is minimally 20/30 uncorrected/corrected. The typical cause of failure is the need for correction (glasses or contact lenses) or an update in prescription. Since the program began, no candidate has been refused the lifeguard position on a vision basis.

However, in a few instances, lifeguards tried to convince facility managers that their glasses were only for reading and not needed for lifeguarding. But when they took the vision test without their corrective lenses, they did not meet the 20/30 standard. In this type of situation, the vision test is an excellent tool to determine which lifeguards need corrective lenses while on duty.

If your facility is not already participating in a vision-screening program, there are many ways to set one up. Here are a few ideas:
• Require lifeguards to bring a note from their eye care practitioner verifying 20/30, uncorrected/corrected vision from an exam within the last year.
• Call a local eye doctor’s office and ask them to screen all of the lifeguards within your hiring time frame.
• Use the established vision-screening program from VFI. For additional information visit www.visualfitness.com.

When working with an eye care professional to set the vision standard for your facility, one point of discussion will be whether to set the standard requiring uncorrected vision or allowing corrected vision. When considering this point, take into account the risks unique to your operation. Most aquatics facilities within the PDRMA membership are traditional pools or waterparks. In this type of “controlled” environment, it makes sense to allow corrected vision. Open water lifeguards’ visual demands may require a stricter standard.

Regardless of your standard, aquatics facilities should implement some kind of vision screening program to verify that lifeguards have all the tools necessary to save lives.