A month after the contract was signed, the National Swimming Pool Foundation held the first of its educational training events on the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act.
The three-hour course, which took place in early October at the World Aquatic Health Conference in Colorado Springs, Colo., drew approximately 60 health officials and code enforcement officers.
And there is much more to come, according to Tracynda Davis, MPH, director of environmental health programs at NSPF. Following is a snapshot of the foundation’s directive (from the Consumer Product Safety Commission) and upcoming curriculum:
Organization: Erica Lane Enterprises (executed by NSPF)
Funding (thru Sept. 2011): $579,988
Target Audience (excluding N.Y., N.J., Conn., Pa.): State/Local Inspectors, Permitting and Regulation Officials
Planned Programming: The next safety event will be held in concert with the Orlando Pool & Spa Show in Orlando, Fla. Topics will include background and basics of the federal law, causes of suction-entrapment, methods of VGB compliance, and how health workers can conduct effective compliance inspections.
Officials have scheduled the session for Feb. 10, and they expect to have a CPSC representative on hand — as they did at the WAHC — to field questions and clarify objectives.
“I think health officials like when they can interact with the CPSC,” Davis says. “They had some good questions [at the last event] about drain covers and compliance issues.”
In the months ahead, NSPF will coordinate with the National Environmental Health Association, as well as the various state associations, on 19 more training events across the country. In June, for example, NSPF anticipates holding a 3- to 5-hour session during the NEHA’s national conference in Columbus, Ohio, Davis says.
The focus throughout the year, however, will be on particularly pool-heavy states such as Arizona, California, Florida and Texas, she adds.
For more information on VGB-related programming, visit the foundation’s Website at www.nspf.org.
