An Philadelphia grandma has decided to return to her old job as a lifeguard amid the national shortage for the position. Robin Borlandoe says she was a lifeguard at 16-years-old says she came back “to do something for our kids, our community.”
“What do they call you? Lifeguard Granny,” Borlandoe told ABC 6 Philadelphia.
The nationwide shortage has been affecting a third of the nation’s public pools American Lifeguard Association reports according to NPR.
Many pools are closing and are limiting their hours. Some public pools have closed because of the shortage.
“We were scrambling to onboard staff,” Philadelphia Parks and Recreation spokesperson Maita Soukop said to the news station.
The American Lifeguard Association officials says since lifeguard certifications were canceled during the pandemic, many lifeguards were unable to get approved to work. Therefore, many of them looked for other jobs and never came back to get employment as a lifeguard.
Borlandoe didn’t pass her certification in her first try, but she took it again and passed the lifeguard test. She hopes her presence at a pool will give children a safe space to go.
“They have no place to go. The pools are closed all around,” she to a local Philly NBC affiliate.
The grandma of six and mother of three spent years working in the health field before serving as a caregiver for sick relatives long after working as a lifeguard in the late 1960s. She is still proud of saving a 7-year-old from drowning when she was a lifeguard as a teen.
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