BSA Lifeguard- new requirements?

[wagionvigil]

If it says certified in CPR then it MUST be from a Recognized agency. Heart Association,Red Cross etc.

[scoutaholic]

And of course, the long standing agency for First Aid, is the American Red Cross.

They charge $80 apiece here for the course. I think $$ is one reason why it's not standardized. Our local Fire Department does a great job for free.

Your local fire department training is probably not the same as certification. AFAIK, the recognized agencies who certify are American Red Cross, and American Heart Association. It is possible that someone on the fire department staff is a certified instructor and can certify others, but I wouldn't count on it.

Even certifications are not all alike. I had a current AHA certification when I got a new part-time job at a fitness center a few months back. The fitness center policy is that all employees must be certified as (Red Cross) Professional Responders. (Just one step below EMT.) When at the Fitness Center, I would often take over for a 'first responder' who may have already started CPR.
We have a police officer on staff, who had the same AHA certification as mine prior to joining the fitness center staff. (I would have thought the City he works for would require their officers to be trained as more than a 'first responder' lay person.)

[Bill Pitcher]

Our local Red Cross chapter charges $10 for the First Aid, CPR and AED training, for SCOUTERS!

[AquilaNegra2]

I wasn't referring to CPR (check the post; someone went on a tangent... again), but to First Aid. I just checked and it's $60 combined, not $80, so yes, I was "a little off" [though your barb was rude, Alex]. Still way too much. It doesn't even fulfill all the requirements for the First Aid badge.

I would HATE to see this standardized under the Red Cross. Not everyone has such high praise or wonderful experiences with them.

[wagionvigil]

I am not a RC fan for several reasons but I prefer a wilerness First AId course with CPR from any other provider to anything Red Cross has. If they are a BSA Provider then there should only be a charge for Materials at best. Our COuncil Pays for one staff member to be trained as a CPR and basic first aid instructor for camp.

[cballman]

WOW when I last checked it might be 40, 50, 60, 70, or 80 dollars for some of these classes depending on where you live, or how many people are in the class. So the price can vary from council to council so please lets be careful as to questioning the price on what someone has to pay for items.

[smtroop168]

When I was at our Summer Camp Leader's meeting at Camp Rodney last Saturday, they said they are no longer going to offer BSA Lifeguard due to changes National made to the requirements. Evidently it will be only offered to Aquatics Camp Staffs and has much more rigor to the CPR certifications needed.

I went to look for the new requirements in the 2009 BSA book and they have been removed.

[wagionvigil]

Here is the Rub To operate under SSD you must have Life Guards and Training BSA Lifeguards is to Supply Units with Trained Lifeguards. Something is fishy.

[wagionvigil]

2009 Requirements

http://meritbadge.org/wiki/index.php/BSA_Lifeguard

[smtroop168]

2009 Requirements

http://meritbadge.org/wiki/index.php/BSA_Lifeguard
2009 Requirements

http://meritbadge.org/wiki/index.php/BSA_Lifeguard

Those are the requirements listed in the 2008 BSA requirements book. The 2009 Book does not have BSA lifeguard requirements in it. I think they also said you had to be 16 to do the requirements but I might be wrong.

[smtroop168]

There was an article in the May-June 2008 Scouter. It states " Now, the BSA Lifeguard program will focus solely on teching the necessary requirements for professional lifeguards at BSA aquatic venues."
"...the BSA Lifeguard program is recommended for youth seeking positions on camp aquatic staffs and for unit leaderswho want to expandtheir water safety skills."

[wagionvigil]

SO the SSD is now going to be very hard to do on a unit level and the saga continues

[FrankJ]

SSD does not require certified lifeguards for unit swims. It does require two capable swimmers to act as life guards along with some one with CPR. Our aquatics base is still offering BSA lifeguard certification along with red cross lifeguard. My understanding is the BSA requirements is being moved to be more in line with red cross requirements. At a recent round table, the aquatics director encouraged everybody interested to become certified.

[wagionvigil]

The Red Cross Lifeguard course is not all that. I will admit BSA has over the years weakened the BSA Lifaguard Requirements maybe they are getting smart and going to make it more recognizable. Back in the 1960's and Early 70's Pools around here would hire BSA Life Guards then BSA went soft..