The greater good: the Red Cross, USLA and YMCA are joining forces to help improve aquatic safety.(Perspectives)(United States Lifesaving Association)(Young Men's Christian Association )

The stakes have never been higher, and they knew it.

When representatives of the nation's major lifeguard-training nonprofit organizations assembled in St. Louis, they discussed, debated and came to agreement on the need to take action. In the short term, their goal is to improve and standardize lifeguard training. In the long term, they want to make the water safer for all Americans.

The American Red Cross, the YMCA and the United States Lifesaving Association met in June to explore increased collaboration. Specifically, they focused on lifeguard training, standards and vigilance/attention--and improved compilation of statistics relating to water incidents.

While the trio has worked together informally for many years, the meeting was intended to find ways to better leverage the resources of all. It was a resounding success, according to Terri Pagano, the YMCA's newly appointed specialty consultant for aquatics/scuba.

"We have long shared a mutual respect that stems from similar, altruistic goals of drowning prevention and aquatic safety," Pagano says. "This meeting reinforced the value of those goals and allowed us to identify ways to do an even better job of realizing them."

A specific result of the nine-person meeting was identification of key issues that will require further attention and research. The broader result, however, was an agreement to work on these and other issues as an informal coalition.

"There are many things we can accomplish together that would be much more difficult to achieve individually," says Mike Espino, manager of aquatics technical development at the Red Cross. "And by agreeing on priorities in advance, we can better ensure outcomes that reflect our collective goals."