In a 40-hour class that concluded on 16 June, four lifeguards were recently certified as Emergency Medical Responders (EMRs) thanks to the generosity of Dan Gough and the Department of Public Safety at St George’s University (SGU).
An EMR is often the first medically trained person to arrive on the scene of an emergency, and their training could mean the difference between life and death.
Deb Eastwood, Director of Grenada Lifeguards, who also took the course, was extremely grateful and stated, “The University of St George’s has been amazing in their support of our lifeguards. They have donated an AED and continue to help maintain it. They have given classes for us on the beach, and this most recent offer to certify some of our lifeguards as EMRs is truly outstanding. We have learned so much from this course and have changed some of our protocols because of what we have learned. While the lifeguards go through 6 hours of first aid in their normal training, this was 40 hours of intense training.”
Dan Gough, EMR Lead Instructor and Director of Emergency Management at SGU, opened up the course on Day 1 by addressing SGU participants, Ministry of Health representatives (many who drive ambulances), and the lifeguards by stating, “It’s important for our community to know each other when an emergency arises. That is one of the reasons we have extended the invitation for training to those beyond the SGU participants.”
The course included theory and practical training around trauma, airway management, patient assessment, incident management, medical emergencies, CPR/AED (cardiopulmonary resuscitation/automated external defibrillator), and more. Many instructors from SGU participated in teaching the course, which made the sessions interesting and informative. Basic life support, adult and paediatric treatment protocols were covered, and all the lifeguards commented on how helpful it was.
Bathway Supervisor Lovell Alexander, who has been with Grenada Lifeguards since 2020, stated, “This course has greatly impacted my life as a lifeguard. I learned a lot of new practices and improved on the ones I had. I thank SGU and Dan Gough for providing such a safe space where I could learn and grow with these new, valuable skills.”
