Secondary care is everything after the victim is out of the water: checking responsiveness and breathing, providing CPR, rescue breathing, and AED use for a victim who is not breathing normally, placing a breathing but unresponsive victim in the recovery position, and treating for shock and hypothermia by drying, warming, and monitoring. Every drowning victim who was submerged, lost consciousness, or received rescue breaths needs evaluation by emergency medical services even if they seem recovered, because inhaled water can cause delayed breathing problems in the hours after the event. The lifeguard documents the incident and continues monitoring until responders take over. Secondary care is where lifeguarding hands off to the standard emergency-care skill set.
This video teaches CPR, rescue breathing, and AED use for a victim who is not breathing normally after being removed from the water, along with the steps for clearing an obstructed airway in both con…