First Aid Squad in Point Beach Has Treated Many for Dehydration and Injuries

Some visiting the boardwalk and beaches in Point Pleasant Beach had to be treated by a local ambulance squad for heat-related ailments on Friday afternoon.

But most beach-goers found that the 65 degree ocean water was all the treatment they needed.

There were a number of visitors to the beach and boardwalk who had to be treated by the Point Pleasant First Aid and Emergency Squad, which serves Point Beach, Bay Head and Mantoloking, according to police, who did not have specific statistics available.

Jerry Meaney, captain of the volunteer Point Pleasant First Aid and Emergency Squad, said on Friday evening that the heat is taking its toll on residents and visitors in the Shore region, primarily beachgoers.

"Many people come here to escape the heat and find themselves the victim of the high temps," Meaney wrote in an email.

"The large majority of our patients are young women who visit the beach without eating a proper breakfast or hydrating," Meaney said. "They sit in the sun for a few hours, no food in their system except the half bagel or six ounces of yogurt they ate on the run.

"Most don't drink enough water for a normal day, but these days are particularly hard on our bodies," Meaney said. "We find many victims in the early stages of heat problems,  so after getting them out of the sun, cooling them with ice or cold packs and giving them water, they usually feel good enough to walk off the beach and back to their rooms or  homes."

But some people have been so affected by the scorching heat that the squad needs to transport them to the hospital for treatment, Meaney said.

"Yes, this is our busy season and the heat related calls do keep us running," he said. "This year we have faced far more severe injuries from head vs. ocean floor, and similar accidents, than I can remember ever before.

"We have had approximately eight broken necks or backs this season," he said.

"Whenever we respond to the beach for a call now we are looking very closely at the signs and symptoms of our patients," he noted.

Meaney said some of the severe injuries are masked by alcohol intake or an altered mental state where the patient cannot give squad members reliable information or history.

"We are fortunate to have great lifeguards and they are taught to look for these injuries and keep the patients stabilized until we arrive with the police," Meaney said.

However, on Friday afternoon it appeared that many beach-goers were just fine, as noted by Risden's Manager Mike Woods. He noted that last Saturday the ocean started cooling off and it was about 65 degrees on Friday.

He said the beach badge business had been brisk, but not really busier than any other Friday during this extremely busy summer.

At Jenkinson's, Marilou Halvorsen, Marketing Director, also said there had been at least a few first aid calls that she was aware of and that three badge checkers left work early because they weren't feeling well.

"We gave them ice and made sure someone was able to drive them home," she said.

She said that although the beach looked rather packed on the section of the beach closest to the water's edge, the actual number of beachgoers was actually down a bit from other days during what has been a very busy summer.

"I don't blame people for not wanting to come to the beach today, because it's just so hot," Halvorsen said.

"I've been running around making sure our badge checkers and our other employees have enough water and Gatorade," she said, getting up from a seat at Jenkinson's Pavilion to get herself a bottle of water.

Speaking of hot young people, about 50 campers from the Point Pleasant Borough Police Camp were lining up on Jenkinson's Boardwalk in Friday afternoon's heat to get ready to walk to the bus back home to the borough.

They had a full day of beachgoing, touring Jenkinson's Aquarium and trying their luck at the arcade. Most of the campers are Point Borough residents between 11 and 13 years old.