Workplace & Aquatic Facilities
"I wanted to pass along this news story for you and your staff concerning the turtle. It has been slightly just over a year since we installed the turtle in all of our branches. Yesterday the turtle was involved in a pool emergency at our Downtown YMCA location and really improved the response time for the victim. It allowed our guard to be a first responder in a lone guard situation and give him the ability to give 100% of his attention to the victim and have the comfort that help was on the way. After folks see this and our insurance company which is Redwoods Groups promotes the Turtle even more you may get lots of calls. It help us save a life yesterday. Our victim is not out of the woods yet but hopefully all will be well. Thanks for all of your support along the way with getting the Turtle installed properly in our YMCAs!" NE, 8 Aug 2008
”Safety Turtle addresses a real concern that I have had with my patients who participate in aquatic therapy,“ said Paul Hougan, founder and president of Therapywerks, Minneapolis. ”I have been particularly impressed with how patients have adopted the practice of using the Safety Turtle alarm. While the safety profile of our patients has been greatly improved with the installation of the Safety Turtle alarm, our patients hardly notice the alarm components and the alarm in no way affects their therapy experience.“
"The front desk staff needs to respond to the pool area and see what needs to happen next," said Simi Valley YMCA Aquatics Director Robert Martin. "The whistles can't always be heard through the walls of the facility. On the first day the alarm was installed, a little girl at the YMCA taking swim lessons was rescued after falling off the steps into the water while her instructor worked with another child. I think what it's done is made the rest of the staff here more aware that we do make rescues. Now everyone hears it."
“A portable aquatic-emergency summoning device should be employed instead of a hard-wired emergency button or telephone in the pool area. Such a device would allow the lifeguard to respond nearly immediately to an aquatic emergency, rather than having travel from where s/he was standing to the emergency call button and then to the distressed swimmer. The lost time often precludes the guard from meeting the 10-second standard for reaching the distressed swimmer. Such devices can be obtained from several sources. Appropriate protocols combined with a commercial version of the Safety Turtle™ (see www.safetyturtle.com) or devices similar to models DXS-62 or DXS-63 by Linear Security, when coupled with an appropriate receiver provide excellent coverage (see www.linearcorp.com).”, Peter Kvale, Risk Management Services, Redwoods Group

Summer is nearly over

Summer is nearly over and most of us have had our long awaited holiday, its now time to pack away the bucket and spade, clean out the cool box and store away all the stuff for next year.

However there is one item that you should not put away and that's the Safety Turtle, the Safety Turtle helped to look after your child or children on holiday and should now help to look after your children at home.

Every year to many children die due to drowning in back yard ponds, every one thinks that it is the holiday that possess the greatest risk to your child's health, but the real dangers are often closer than you imagine.

When you go around your parents, how many times have you left your child to play in your parents back garden not even thinking about what dangers it could hold. The fish pond, the water butt, the garden water feature, all a fascination to young minds but all a possible death trap.

You paid good money for the Safety Turtle so why not carry on letting it assist you in safeguarding your children, and why not educate your parents on how it can help them look after your children.

Child Safety
Garden pond dangerPress Release 807, 17/07/2008

Experts warn of garden pond dangerChild health specialists at Leicester's hospitals are pleading for parents to be vigilant with small children following a spate of drownings. In the last four months the accident and emergency unit and children's intensive care unit at Leicester Royal Infirmary have dealt with five accidents where young children have fallen into garden ponds, three of which have died. This represents half the annual national average.The unit are concerned this trend could rise through the summer as children begin their school holidays.James McClean, matron for the children's intensive care unit at Leicester's hospitals, said: "Small children can drown in just a few centimetres of water. "Over the last few months we have seen the results of these accidents. We've seen five children come into our hospital and three have tragically died. We see the devastation that it leads to for families and it is heartbreaking for the nursing staff in intensive care and all the staff, particularly because it is potentially avoidable."All parents know that once children are crawling or walking they are into everything and naturally curious about everything with no idea of the dangers. This is why it is vitally important that parents take adequate precautions and never leave small children alone near water, even for a minute."The children treated for drowning ranged in age from small toddlers up to six. The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) estimates around five children drown in garden ponds each year across England.The society recorded 58 children under the age of six drowned after falling into garden ponds between 1995 and 2005. Children aged one to two are most at risk.David Walker, from RoSPA, said: "Sadly, every year we hear of children drowning in garden ponds or other enclosures of water in the garden, such as swimming or paddling pools or water butts, and sometimes these incidents happen after a child has strayed into a neighbour's garden. Children under six-years-old are particularly at risk because they can easily get into the water, but often cannot get themselves out again."Our advice to parents is to look around the garden from a child's perspective to see if there are enclosures of water that they could climb or fall into. Then consider how best to isolate these items. We recommend filling in a pond while the children are young or, if this isn't possible, covering it with a rigid grille."However, it is crucial to remember that supervision is the most effective way of preventing accidents to young children. We have heard of cases where parents have been temporarily distracted, for example by a telephone call or in a party-type environment, and a child has wandered away and got into difficulties in water. "As children get older, teach them about water safety, and, as a parent, make sure you know what to do in an emergency and have learnt some first aid."

Safety device in troubled waters

In 1998 Bob Lyons invented the Safety Turtle, a personal immersion alarm, to help save children's lives. The Turtle is worn on a child's wrist and will sound an alarm at a base station if the child falls or walks into water.
Confident his invention would prevent drownings - the second-leading cause of unintentional death among children between the ages of one and four, according to the Red Cross - Mr. Lyons believed Canadian safety organizations would endorse the device. He was mistaken.
Problems started soon after launch. When Mr. Lyons asked the Canada Safety Council and the Lifesaving Society to test the product, they declined. "We didn't expect them just to jump on our bandwagon, but we expected them to do some investigation, some research. And if they did that, we had great confidence they would come to some positive conclusion."
But the Canada Safety Council doesn't test commercial products. "We're not aligned with manufacturing or business and industry. Once we get into those kind of endeavors, we compromise the integrity of our message. To be honest, we're not set up to do those kinds of things [testing] either," says Jack Smith, president of Canadian Safety Council.
The Lifesaving Society also declined testing the Safety Turtle for liability reasons. "There's always a chance the batteries aren't working or someone doesn't put it on securely," explains Barbara Byers, public education director for the Lifesaving Society.
Mr. Lyons had to the United States to find a safety association willing to test his product. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission tested the Safety Turtle and found the product to be safe and reliable.
But that was only the beginning of Mr. Lyons' frustration. He was soon to discover that regardless of the merit of his product, the category it belonged to (pool alarms) wasn't perceived by the associations as fitting in with the message of water safety they believe is most important: Parents should always supervise children when they are in and around water, and should never be more than an arm's length away.
"We think guardian supervision is imperative. After the kids are in the pool when they shouldn't be, we think the Safety Turtle is not a bad product, but it's more mitigation than prevention," Mr. Smith says.
As a result, when asked to comment on Safety Turtle, neither the Lifesaving Society nor the Canada Safety Council were or are prepared to endorse it.
No one would argue with the critical importance of parental supervision, least of all Mr. Lyons. But he believes the tepid response scared off potential purchasers. "People listen to these statements and then don't buy the product," he says.
Indeed, Safety Turtle sales representatives got dealers and distributors to carry the product in 1999, but it didn't move off the shelves.
Mr. Lyons then attempted to establish common ground by meeting with the decision makers at the associations. He had some luck with Rick Haga, former national executive director of the Lifesaving Society from 1992 to 2007, who finally said, while it doesn't take the place of supervision, Safety Turtle is an added level of defence.
"An increased awareness and understanding of the product and the research Bob and his team put behind it helped. In addition, as time went by, it [Safety Turtle] started to stand the test of time," Mr. Haga says.

However, Mr. Lyons couldn't bridge the gap with all groups. When he met with Emile Therien of the Canada Safety Council back in 1999, he wasn't able to ease concern that parents would rely on Safety Turtle instead of supervision. Ms. Byers shares the same concern, today.
"I think Bob is very safety conscious but the position of the Lifesaving Society is if we endorse any one product like the Safety Turtle that gives parents a false sense of security."
(Mr. Lyons' position is that research shows supervision can and will fail. Furthermore, he adds, "People don't buy Safety Turtle so they can go and bake a cake.")
Nevertheless, support remained limited at best. As a result, it became a struggle for Mr. Lyons' company to survive. Some sales kept the business afloat but Mr. Lyons, his partners, reps and family all felt tremendous pressure.
"There were people that wanted to wind it up. I would have wound it up, too if it hadn't been for a few lifesaving stories and some feedback."
But he hung in, did a major refinancing in 2001 to "put the balance sheet in barely respectable form," and started to turn his attention to the U.S. market. Having the support of the Consumer Products Safety Commission - their spokesperson demonstrated Safety Turtle on CNN, for example - made it easier to make inroads there. Today, 68% of Safety Turtle sales come from the United States and more than 20% is generated outside North America. And Mr. Lyons is happy to report the business is viable.But entrepreneurs be warned: If there is a philosophical difference between an association's position (and message) and a product, support may not be forthcoming and that could affect the health and direction of the business

Safety Turtle adopted by YMCA

"Turtle to the RescueOmaha, NE -- When a lifeguard jumps in the pool, a "Turtle" follows to help. It sounds odd, but it's the reason a man is alive tonight. A man named Daniel just finished his laps in the downtown YMCA pool when he passed out. Lucky lifeguard Kenneth Proctor sat in the chair. He jumped into action with an electronic stowaway. Together they made the difference between life and death. Keeping up with the little swimmers is the biggest challenge Proctor faces most days. But on the rare occasion a life is in danger, this lifeguard takes his title seriously. "This will be about my fourth rescue in total."When a swimmer named Daniel passes out, Ken's training as a navy air rescue swimmer and 16 years poolside become instinct."Upon gasping for air I noticed the scar on is chest which alerted me towards past problems with his heart and breathing."As Ken keeps Daniel breathing, this little red companion calls for help. "This is kind of the hero of the day right here. Without the "Turtle" I would not have been able to give Daniel the attention that I did give him and get the ems within five minutes." The "Turtle" is a quarter size electronic transmitter activated by water when a life guard takes an emergency plunge."With the "Turtle", it actually immediately alerts the offices and the supervisors in the building that way that way I am able to direct all my attention to Daniel and the situation."Ken and the "Turtle." Together, they save lives."I am glad that he is doing well I heard his family is very supportive. They were there automatically and you know they were gracious for what we did. It was just being part of the team." The Turtle alert system costs 500 dollars. It's installed at all YMCA pools. For now, Ken is only installed at the downtown "Y."Reported by: Dave Roberts, dgroberts@action3news.com " "I wanted to pass along this news story for you and your staff concerning the turtle. It has been slightly just over a year since we installed the turtle in all of our branches. Yesterday the turtle was involved in a pool emergency at our Downtown YMCA location and really improved the response time for the victim. It allowed our guard to be a first responder in a lone guard situation and give him the ability to give 100% of his attention to the victim and have the comfort that help was on the way. After folks see this and our insurance company which is Redwoods Groups promotes the Turtle even more you may get lots of calls. It help us save a life yesterday. Our victim is not out of the woods yet but hopefully all will be well. Thanks for all of your support along the way with getting the Turtle installed properly in our YMCAs!"Linda ButkusVice President Operations/COOYMCA of Greater Omaha8 Aug 2008
Safety Turtle adopted by YMCA Ottawa, ON – May 1, 2008 – Terrapin Communications, Inc., maker of Safety Turtle, a personal wireless immersion alarm designed to protect young children, seniors, disabled persons and pets from drowning, today announced that its product has been adopted by YMCA and other aquatic facilities to automatically alert the front desk of a water rescue by one of its lifeguards. Safety Turtle also affords a layer of protection for rehabilitation patients who exercise in water. They wear a Turtle sun visor or a Turtle headphone for musical accompaniment. A Turtle instantly detects immersion in water, then transmits a signal that sets off a loud alarm at one or more Base Stations. Safety Turtle is the only product on the market satisfying insurance underwriter recommendations that a portable aquatic-emergency summoning device should be used instead of a hard-wired emergency button or telephone in a public pool area. A Turtle attached to each lifeguard rescue buoy, which always goes into the water during a rescue, allows a single lifeguard to respond nearly immediately to an aquatic emergency, rather than having to travel from where s/he was standing to the emergency call button and then to the distressed swimmer. The Safety Turtle personal immersion type pool alarm and wireless gate alarm were presented and demonstrated by a CPSC water safety spokesperson on a CNN pool safety feature that aired Saturday July 14, 2007. The segment is on Terrapin's web site http://www.safetyturtle.com/, along with Oprah and other media articles and airings featuring Safety Turtle.