COLUMBUS, Ohio — The pool season is back for Central Ohio communities. It has been a full year since many of them have opened because of the pandemic.
In 2020, communities, including Columbus, decided to close pools to help stop the spread of COVID-19. Now that vaccinations are on the rise, and cases of COVID-19 are down, the opening of pools is a move toward normalcy. But, the pandemic still lingers.
"A lot of pools around the community are desperate for staffing" according to Sarah Pena, the aquatics manager at Lifetime Fitness in Dublin.
Pena said that because pools closed last year, many lifeguards let their certifications lapse. This year many are just not getting back into the business.
Because of this, many communities are seeing shortages in lifeguards.
"It's devastating seeing all these younger kids who had certification and were incredably excited to go to the pool and keep kids as safe as possible just aren't able to do it," Pena said.
Columbus is one community that is feeling the pinch. According to the city's recreation and parks department, at the beginning of March they were still 50 lifeguards short of meeting their goal for the summer season.
According to Kerry Francis, Columbus is looking to hire 150 lifeguards. At this time they only have 100.
In addition to a lifeguard shortage, Central Ohio is also lacking instructors. The combination of both a lifeguard and instructor shortage is causing many communities to rethink their efforts to make sure safety is still top priority. According to Pena, some communities may have to restrict hours to make sure staffing meets safety standards.
This is not the way most Central Ohio communities want to start the summer season, but they will adjust and they're just happy that they can open pools again after a year of being closed because of the pandemic.