New BESTGuard™ Lifeguard Certification Making Waves

By Greg Schmidt, BESTGuard™ Program Chair

On behalf of BESTGuard™, I want to express my heartfelt thanks to Mike Rogers and eLifeguard.com™ for sharing our vision; and manufacturing our product ideas to make them available to everyone.  The first product now available is the BESTGuard™ Head Immobilizer system  (above). 

You can now purchase this system online from eLifeguard.com™ at http://www.elifeguard.com/best-guard-head-immobilizer. 

What makes this unique?  The design is intended for flexibility, and X-ray translucence.  Here are some advantages of this design:

• Our notched book-end style immobilizers provide access to the lower jaw for jaw thrust airway, without need for removing the immobilizers.
• These immobilizers use industrial strength Velcro; so they’ll stay in place even when the patient is rolled onto his/her side to clear vomit or fluids from the airway.
• The immobilizers are light, and float when dropped into the water; yet very strong, so they won’t break if dropped onto a concrete deck, or when yanked free from the Velcro.
• These immobilizers can be turned in any direction to match the direction of the patient’s head. A misaligned head can be easily accommodated with this device, whereas some other systems must be applied only with the head in the “correct anatomical position.”
• These immobilizers are designed to work in tandem with the BESTGuard™ backboard, currently in development. This new backboard will have a flat surface covered with Velcro from the top of the board to the drainage slot in the middle, providing more flexibility for patients of various heights.  The need to move the patient to align the head with the immobilization section is virtually eliminated.

BESTGuard™ Emmobilize™ Backboard –

The BESTGuard™ backboard in development goes with the custom head immobilizers.  This backboard will have hard plastic runners, with adjustable waterproof straps. 

The straps are the same as those used for SCUBA weight belts, with stainless steel quick release buckles and non-slip teeth that never come loose.  The straps feature a slide through system, so they can be quickly moved to different positions to match the size and position of the patient. 

Straps can be combined quickly together to make very long straps for the largest patients.  The boards will have a buoyancy compensation system to make the board more easily submersible for slant-board removal.  These boards will also be constructed of a tough polymer material to accommodate the requirement for X-ray translucence, chlorine resistance, and preventing transfer of blood borne pathogens.

What’s BESTGuard™? –

BESTGuard™ is compilation of the best professional practices currently in use in the aquatic industry. Since we now have significant overlap between the various lifeguarding programs, BESTGuard™’s intention is to put those into a common package; and fill in the gaps with original techniques, or combine several existing ideas into a new technique.  Our mantra is pretty simple: find out what works best and do it!

BESTGuard™ Head Immobilizer

As of one year ago, BESTGuard™ was submitted to, and approved by the Washington State Dept. of Health as a valid certification in our state.  The course is longer than most other programs, to ensure that quality isn’t sacrificed for convenience. 

The cost of the program is negligible, due to the mission of the program’s founders: provide the best available training at virtually no cost.  All materials are free and can be sent to whoever wishes to use the program. 

Anyone interested in establishing BESTGuard™ at their facility should contact me to preview the materials and set up an instructor class.

NuMask IOM –

Before I finish my article, I want to acknowledge the other commercial partner that we’ve had since the beginning of the BESTGuard™ project: the NuMask Company. 

NuMask president Dr. David Isagholian, has worked closely with our team on the implementation of their terrific resuscitation mask: the NuMask Intra-Oral Mask or IOM into the BESTGuard™ program.  If you haven’t seen this device, check out their web site and watch the product video demo.  

Unlike other pocket masks, an IOM is inserted into the mouth over the teeth, like a snorkel.  Here’s why BESTGuard™ recommends this mask for every guard:

• The IOM is small and fits easily into any fanny pack.
• The IOM fits any size patient, no need for a different mask for pediatric or stoma patients.
• The IOM makes a tight seal without a cumbersome inflated skirt that other pocket masks have.
• The mask stays in the patient’s mouth between breaths/compressions. Just reopen the airway, pinch the nose shut and ventilate; whether doing rescue breathing or using a BVM over the mask.  There is no need to reposition and reseal the mask.
• It’s truly waterproof and durable, no deflating skirt from folding or pinching the vinyl
• They’re just as cheap as other pocket masks, yet last indefinitely.
• It works with an accompanying NuMask OPA which sits in a depression made for the OPA. The NuMask OPA is a one size fits most design, made of very soft polymers that can be quickly trimmed with small trauma scissors.  Guards need just one OPA in their fanny pack to go with the IOM.  Pretty darn cool!

I encourage you to check out the BESTGuard™ Emmobilize™ Head Immobilizer system for your backboards.  If you’re already using book-end style immobilizers, you can only benefit from this new system.  Plus, eLifeguard.com™ has them priced right.

Note: BESTGuard™ receives no compensation from eLifeguard.com™ (except prototypes/samples) for the use of our designs, because frankly we aren’t interested in compensation.  We sincerely hope that the products developed will be of benefit to other guards.  That’s where eLifeguard.com™ stepped in to partner with us!

Greg Schmidt
Lifeguard Times™ Contributor
Aquatic Center Manager
Eastern Washington University
leos@ewu.edu