Daniel Peters: Welcome to AOAP's discussion from the deep end, a podcast for aquatic professionals by aquatic professionals. We're here to share real stories and practical ideas to help you run safer and stronger aquatic programs and facilities. I'm Daniel Peters, your host, and I'm joined today by my co-host, Kirsten Barnes. AOAP is a nonprofit dedicated to improving aquatic education, recreation, and safety through training, resources, and community. Today, we're talking with someone who brings a unique public health perspective to aquatics. Sarah Cheshire. has spent her career helping protect the health and safety of people who use public facilities ⁓ brings a deep understanding of inspections, rule writing, and evolving challenges that come with keeping venues safe healthy.
Kirsten Barnes: Sarah is an environmental health scientist with the Utah Department of Health and Human Services, where she works on pool inspections, public health, and role development. She's also been deeply involved as an ambassador with the Model Aquatic Health Code, or the MAC, and she's helping translate that knowledge into practical updates as new design and technology trends emerge. Sarah was also recognized as a 2026 Aquatics International Power Issue Honoree and an AOAP Power Speaker. And we're excited to hear more about how her experience in environmental health shapes the way she approaches aquatic safety. Welcome, Sarah.
Sarah Cheshire: Thank you, I'm glad to be here.
Daniel Peters: We're just going to get started. We'll talk about kind of your path into public health. You've had really interesting path. ⁓ can you us how you first got interested in science and what led you into public health work?
Sarah Cheshire: Yeah, so I started out as a sampler, a water technician and a sampler. I would go around to all different types of water facilities, so drinking water facilities, pools, spas, wastewater, splash pads, ⁓ water. I collect all these samples and then I take them back to ⁓ public health laboratory, a small public health laboratory ⁓ we would test them for coliform bacteria and other contaminants. that was my first exposure to public health. That was something that I thought, no, somebody does this. They protect our drinking water. They make sure our pools are safe. That was one of the things that I was like, somebody does this? I had no idea. And I loved ⁓ behind the scenes aspect. I like my job was important. Like I'm saving lives, I'm protecting public health, but nobody knows. It's kind of that. Batman type thing. Nobody knows who this hero is, right? Saving lives. I think that's what really caught my attention was that people do this ⁓ protect people without doing it for glory or for recognition.
Kirsten Barnes: I love it. I'm only calling health inspectors Batman from now on. That's fabulous. ⁓ Sarah, how did those early experiences as a lab technician really shape the way that you think about aquatic safety today? ⁓
Sarah Cheshire: Yes! ⁓
Daniel Peters: you
Sarah Cheshire: ⁓ water, ⁓ feel is a basic human need, right? We can't live without it. And that's drinking water. But ⁓ such fun place and a good place to recreate too. And you need that balance, that exercise, that work-life balance, right? A place to get away and escape and to recreate. But we have to be aware of the risks and be able to mitigate those risks. And that's what really caught my eye. Again, the behind the scenes, right? How do we keep people safe when they're trying to have fun? that's what caught eye and my interest. That's why I thought education and training were so important.
Daniel Peters: What was it about the pool and spa work that kept pulling you in? You said ⁓ that was kind of your interest but to kind of get to where you are now, like what part of those areas just couldn't keep you out?
Sarah Cheshire: training and the education. Pools are so ⁓ There's so many aspects. There's the learn to swim programs that reduce or prevent drownings and injuries. There's the operations side of it that you could go into so many different aspects of the operations side. Pumps, filters, disinfection, all of different things. And ⁓ outbreaks. That's really what pulled me into the public health part of it. is how can we prevent these disease outbreaks, these injuries, these drownings that we see in aquatic facilities? How can we be the Batman and protect public health?
Kirsten Barnes: That's awesome. So when you started really getting into pools and spas and doing these inspections and surveys, what surprised you most about the way that public health and aquatics operators really interact?
Sarah Cheshire: I think that a lot of people look at health inspectors as the enemy. You prepare your elevator speech. I literally did this in an elevator once at a conference I was at. I was riding in the elevator and this lady says, well, what do you do for a living? And I said, I'm a health inspector. And she goes, ⁓ you don't have any friends, do you? And I was like, really? ⁓ But health inspectors, right? You don't have clean food. You don't have. clean water, you don't have a place to dispose of your trash, right? There's diseases, there's all of these things. And so I think that's what surprised me about that conflict of aquatics industry and health inspectors is that perception. And in reality, we're all on the same page. We're all on the same team. We want healthy, safe places to recreate, to play in the water and to have fun.
Daniel Peters: It's funny you say that as an operator too, you hear those like, ⁓ the health inspector's here. it's like, ⁓ ⁓ that the reaction that we always get? But it's just kind of the stigma that's been around, I guess, for lack of a better ⁓ ⁓ What do you think? No, ⁓ no way that's true. ⁓
Sarah Cheshire: Yeah. Yeah, I don't have any friends.
Daniel Peters: What do you think people outside of the field misunderstand about the work health inspectors do like this ties back into? Why they think you guys don't have any friends?
Sarah Cheshire: I think they see us as regulators and we're mean and the only reason that we come to the pool is to shut them down. We're gonna find something and we're gonna close your pool. And that's not the case. I think 99.9 % of our job as health inspectors is to educate, right? To work out the kinks, to mitigate the risks, to try to make things healthy and as safe as possible. And we're a new perspective. Operators see the day-to-day things that are happening in their pool. We come in and we may not recognize that the pump winds a little bit different today, because we don't hear it every day, but we see that different perspective and that different items from a health and safety that we get to share with those people or those operators. And in true form, we want to make your job easier too. We want to protect you as an operator by hey, we don't want to make somebody sick. This could, so let's fix it. Let's work together and fix it.
Kirsten Barnes: One of the ways that operators and health inspectors work together is through the Model Aquatic Health Code. listeners who maybe are not quite so familiar with Model Aquatic Health Code, how would you describe the MAC and why it matters, even if my state doesn't require that I follow it?
Sarah Cheshire: love it. A lot of states don't adopt the MAC ⁓ or the Model Aquatic Health Code outright, but it's still an important piece for operators and for people to look at. So the Model Aquatic Health Code is a set of voluntary science-based guidelines. It's published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It's published to prevent ⁓ and injury in public swimming pools, hot tubs, splash pads, any aquatic venue. that people have access to. It provides a comprehensive modern standard for design and construction, but it also includes operation and maintenance and training requirements for, lifeguards or other operators in there for any aquatic facilities. the model aquatic health code was written to reduce cryptosporidium outbreaks. That's what the driving force ⁓ it. ⁓ But it also stretches into reducing chemical injuries, reducing drownings. was written for public health officials as a guidance document to say, hey, how can we keep these aquatic venues safe? And thing I really love about the Model Aquatic Health Code is it's free and it's easily available. You can log online and anybody can read the Model Aquatic Health Code. ⁓ Anybody join the council for the Model Aquatic Health Code and get involved and be able to read the scientific studies or turn in change requests and be a voice for good for the model aquatic health code. ⁓ tries, it's updated every three to five years, tries to keep up with those emerging trends that come in aquatics. And again, covers all aspects from design and construction and plan review to operation and maintenance. And there's a lot of industries involved in writing it, public health involved in writing it, a lot of collaboration to develop this document.
Kirsten Barnes: It's super comprehensive and it's also good nighttime reading if you need to, know, 194 pages to really get you settled in for the evening.
Sarah Cheshire: you And I love that, Kirsten. It's not only a nighttime reading, yeah, it's long because it is so comprehensive, but then you add the annex into it and there's even more length, right? So what the annex is, it explains the why behind the code. So if code says you have to have a six foot fence, ⁓ you in the annex, you have to have a six foot fence to prevent unauthorized access by children that maybe don't know to swim or whatever it happens to be. That's just one quick example. the annex again, yes, long document because it's pretty comprehensive. And I really think that's why a lot of states or jurisdictions haven't adopted it is because it is so comprehensive, but we take and we piecemeal it and use it as an influencer for our regulations and codes.
Kirsten Barnes: And I love that you said that, it's an influencer. It's also a standard of care, right? So even if my state hasn't adopted it, ⁓ always a document that I can go back to and say, hey, this is what I need to do. And here's the justification why. It's such a great piece, even if it's not required.
Sarah Cheshire: Yeah, I love that as well. Regulations and codes. So in my legislative statute, so that's where I get my authority to write rules. the legislative authority, it tells us to write minimum standards. These are minimum requirements. The MAC goes way above and beyond that. So for operators or for inspectors or people that want to go above and beyond and use the best practices, the is definitely a good guidance document for that.
Daniel Peters: Well, you said free so people like free we're hoping that with this podcast and the education piece that you're able to provide and that free concept we're gonna get some more people whether they required or not to start start the reading process How has the Mac influenced the way you think about healthier and safer aquatic facilities
Sarah Cheshire: Right. I love that you as influence. think that's what the Mac is. It's an influencer. So in Utah, we don't regulate float tanks, ⁓ as an example. But if somebody in and wants to design or open a float tank, I can refer them to the Mac and say, hey, these are the requirements. These are the standard of care that you want to use and look into if you want to open one of these, even if I'm not the one that's coming in and giving you a permit or regulating that. I love the annex because I can go into a facility ⁓ I've taken pieces ⁓ from the Mac and adopted them ⁓ word for word into our rule as can. Then I can go back and say, okay, you're not meeting this part of my rule. Here's the annex. This explains why. ⁓ If can explain the why to the operator or to the person that you're talking to, then they understand the intent the reason for that. rule. Why are you doing this? Well, we want to protect public health by why are you requiring a shower so that you can clean off the fecal stuff on your backside you get into the pool that could potentially make somebody sick, right? So here's the why behind it and I love that. That's what the Mac does.
Kirsten Barnes: One of things I love about the Mac too is that for the operator who already gets it, it gives them a why to give to the, maybe the leadership in their agency, their community, their organization, who doesn't understand? So it gives that information there with a little bit of muscle of the CDC to back it up, right? So.
Sarah Cheshire: I love that you said that, Kirsten. I'm gonna jump in on that really quick. I hope that relationship between the operator and the inspector, I hope that's something that the operator sees that the inspector could do for them as well. you see something that you want fixed because you're there day to day operating the pool, tell your health inspector to write it on their inspection. A lot of times when you write it on their inspection, ⁓
Kirsten Barnes: Yeah, yeah!
Sarah Cheshire: powers that be, maybe your manager or the city council or the board of health or somebody above you that makes those decisions can see, the health inspector saw this too. So helps. It's a win-win collaboration, cooperation experience.
Kirsten Barnes: I love this thought of moving from adversaries into collaborators to help make things safer. That's awesome. So Sarah, talk to us little bit about what it takes to turn a code or a rule from something that's just written on paper to something that actually works in the real world.
Sarah Cheshire: That's a good question and it's a tricky question to do, right? And I think that comes back to what we just said is that collaboration and that cooperation. I think lot of people think I'm just a paper pusher, right? I'm just writing down rules and I don't actually know what's happening, but that's where getting out and talking to operators, talking to industry, visiting sites, being in pools, watching how pumps work, seeing if it's feasible. I think that's where the rubber meets the road. And that's where I can take the inspection experience back to the rule writing and say, hey, is this enforceable? yeah, it's good that we tell people to shower, but is it enforceable? Is it something that I can actually make work? And that's where experienced as an operator or being experienced as an inspector and making those collaborations and those connections really make the paper become real and active.
Daniel Peters: In the world of aquatics, it's constantly changing, sometimes quicker than other times, but ⁓ new trends and things that are always occurring in our real life. What some of the trends that you guys are seeing that facility operators should be paying attention to?
Sarah Cheshire: I love this question. So really, in reality, nobody builds a rectangular pool anymore. It's always bigger, stronger, faster, more fun, more exciting. And that's terrifying for a health inspector or plan reviewer because we know how to do the rectangle stuff. We're really pretty good at that, right? But when you add a different feature or when you add ⁓ Induction current. Okay, now we have to assess what's the risk? How are we going to adapt? Are we going to transmit more disease through this? Hey, what if you use a different disinfectant? Now what are we going to do? And that becomes really tricky. So the trends that we're seeing right now is just bigger, stronger, faster, more fun. There's designers and engineers that are becoming more and more creative. We have action rivers coming in. which a lazy river is one thing, but an action river that has surfing and tubes. have artificial swimming lagoons. Those are new and huge. We have one in our state that's coming in that's 11 and a half acres of water. That's the surface area. That's a huge amount of water. And how do you keep it clean? And how do you keep the ducks out really, right? Not to mention people. We have surf parks. So now we're surfing, we're creating waves before was in the ocean. Now creating them in a smaller body of water, smaller, just not ocean size, right? ⁓ Still large body of water, but surf parks are coming in. Cold plunge pools, okay, now we're jumping into ice water. What are the health risks? How do we keep on top of those so that people don't hurt themselves?
Kirsten Barnes: So you talked about lot trends that are really starting to pop up and gain a lot of traction right now. ⁓ How you as a health inspector or as part of the board for MAC, decide what trends are worth incorporating into guidance and which ones need more time and evidence? ⁓
Sarah Cheshire: Good question. So if they can fit into our rule, ⁓ they can be built, right? But a lot of these can't fit. They have to have a variance of some sort. So they go through a variance process. And that's when we assess the risk. There's a perception that if it's open to the public, that it must be safe. And that's our job as an advisory board or a rule writing agency to make sure that they are safe before they open to the public. ⁓ important questions need to be considered like what are the risks? Who's going to get sick or what's the likelihood of an associated illness or injury with this particular facility? How do we manage and mitigate those risks so that businesses can be innovative, expand technology and do the fun, big, fast, exciting things without being regulated to death so that they can't do those fun, big, fast things? How do we prevent the uninformed public from jumping into something that may cause harm to themselves or others? How do we teach them, you know, it's not safe to get into cold plunge if you have these health conditions. then the real trick is how do we balance all this in a political and economic era where it's rapidly moving away from business regulation? They're saying, don't come in and regulate me. Be ⁓ more innovative. And so that's a really tricky question and those are the questions that we have to ask.
Kirsten Barnes: Well, and isn't that such a big piece of our industry is people want that perceived risk, but they still want it to be safe. So how do you balance all of those things?
Sarah Cheshire: Exactly.
Daniel Peters: It's a fine line I'm sure that being tiptoed by both sides you guys and the pool operator so
Sarah Cheshire: going to, sorry, ⁓ I'm going to say regulation is written retroactively right? Something happens and they say, well, why weren't you there health department? Why didn't you protect public health? ⁓ So it's really tricky to be proactive and say, look, cold plunge pools coming. Let's assess the risks before we start allowing them.
Daniel Peters: No, go for it.
Sarah Cheshire: to come in and be open. Most people are like, no, let me do it. And then if something happens, come in retroactively and say, well, we're making this rule because this accident and these terrible tragedies. So we hope to be a little bit more proactive. But again, in the economic and environment that we are, that ⁓ becomes really
Daniel Peters: Because those aren't the people that are making the decisions that it's ⁓ the people understand the proactive piece are the aquatic people but ⁓ It's above level some time. So ⁓ you spend a lot of time talking about cryptosporidium and keeping poop out of public pools Why is that message still so important?
Sarah Cheshire: Crypto is tricky. The reason we want to keep crypto out is because it's resistant to chlorine. So even in the best maintained pools, perfect disinfection all the time, you can have crypto. the key for that is educating the public. Typically, public doesn't know that if they poop in the pool, they're going to make somebody sick. They think, ⁓ I can swim. In fact, a great ⁓ YouTube clip of Duck Dynasty and Uncle Psy saying that how many days has it been since you've had diarrhea and he's counting on his fingers and he can't remember. So there's a public perception that well we want to have fun too but they don't understand the flip side that's gonna make somebody sick. And ⁓ don't until nine to fourteen days that somebody's sick from crypto so we can't do any of that proactive stuff. It's all about educating the public on crypto and saying, hey, if you're sick, please stay out. You don't want to get in a pool and make somebody else sick. think nobody in a pool saying, ha ha, watch this, I've got diarrhea. I'm going to make somebody sick, right? I don't think the general public does that. I think if they know and they're educated, they're not going to get in the pool and make somebody sick.
Daniel Peters: It's that education piece. We're taking those preventative measures.
Kirsten Barnes: Thank you.
Sarah Cheshire: Absolutely.
Kirsten Barnes: So Sarah, a lot of your work really seems to sit at this intersection of education and enforcement. How do you approach helping people understand the why behind rules like the ones we just talked about?
Sarah Cheshire: Right, I think it's just being open, honest, and transparent. You go into an inspection, you introduce yourself, you say, hey, I'm here to help. And I know that's kind of, Batman, I'm here to help, right? I don't know, want to go in and you want to educate, right? I think if you tell the operators, if people get in while they're sick, they can make others sick and then you're liable as an operator. I think if you approach it as, we want to work together, we want to eliminate risks, ⁓ we to make this as safe as possible. And my job as a health inspector is not to close your pool. My job is to keep it open and healthy and safe and everybody in a good place. not to say that I don't close pools because I will close a pool if you have an imminent health risk or something and that protects the operator just as much as it does the public, right? Because if somebody drowns or dies in your pool, that's not a good thing for an operator. So we want to make sure that we just collaborate and work together to fix any issues. And inspector is a different set of eyes. It's a different perspective. We come ⁓ looking for different things. And think as an operator, sometimes we get blinded ⁓ the day-to-day stuff. Like we don't see this because we see it every day. But new coming in gives us a different perspective and an opportunity to learn and grow and make everything better.
Daniel Peters: When you you talk about perspective the perspective of an inspector what makes a good experience, ⁓
Sarah Cheshire: I think it's when you find a risk, you notify the operator of the risk, you collaborate on a process of how you're going to fix or mitigate that risk, and you both leave with a better understanding of how to make that pool safe. do think it comes back to that collaboration, that cooperation, we're on the same team. Let's keep this pool open, operating, and let's keep our patrons safe.
Kirsten Barnes: Absolutely. And ⁓ we all that's what we want when we step out on the pool deck. So Sarah, how do you communicate really serious public health issues in a way that people will actually hear and remember and just not tune out because they've heard it too much or because it sounds too scary?
Sarah Cheshire: like that question. It reminds me of signs, right? We require all of these signs and then nobody reads them, right? Because it's just a list of words on there. So have to be creative. You have have things like this podcast or you have to have public service announcements or CDC does a lot of gifts that they post reminds me of signs, right? We require all of these signs and then nobody reads them, right? Because it's just a list of words on there. So you have to be You have to have things like podcast or you have to have public service announcements or CDC does a lot of gifts that they post or... Social media really affects people. If they see it on social media, they'll remember it, right? So that's a lot of places that we can work as inspectors to spread the word. Social media really affects people. If they see it on social media, they'll remember it, right? So that's a lot of places that we can work as inspectors to spread the word. a lot messages going out. Hey, remember it's swim season. Remember to shower before you get in the pool. Remember, don't poop in the pool because that will make people sick, right? That's how we proactively, so ⁓ being innovative and creative trying to find these social media outlets or other places that we can educate the public because I think education is the key. a lot messages going out. Hey, remember it's swim season. Remember to shower before you get in the pool. Remember, don't poop in the pool because that will make people sick, right? That's how we proactively, so ⁓ being innovative and creative trying to find these social media outlets or other places that we can educate the public because I think education is the key.
Daniel Peters: what advice would you give to operators or staff who want to be proactive but aren't sure where to begin, where to start that process?
Sarah Cheshire: First thing I would tell them is read the Mac. I know it's like 200 pages, but go in and look it up, read it. Or pick a topic in there and say, hey, I'm gonna study about section outlet fitting assemblies. Now I'm gonna read that section and study that section, right? So start with the Mac. It's the best practices. next thing I would about is make friends with your health inspector. We like to have friends. And we're on the same page, right? We want to make sure that we're helping you. And don't know everything. I will be the first person to tell you that I don't know everything. But we do have resources, and we do have connections, and we've networked, and we can get you to people that do know. Or we can study it and do our research and ⁓ you figure out the best for your facility.
Kirsten Barnes: So know, Sarah, we talked about communicating public health issues in a way that sticks. You've also taught a lot of CPO classes and worked with a lot of different audiences. What approach helps technical information stick with people in the field?
Sarah Cheshire: I think the key to good operator or a operator ⁓ is meeting where they are. I have people my CPO class that haven't even been in the pump room, so they don't know anything about pools, right? And pools have their own language. When I say filter, I say sofa, or I say aquatic venue, there's a different language that a lot of people don't understand. So making sure that you speak the same language first, and number two, meeting people where they are. of my first questions when I teach a class is, where are from? What type of pool do you have and how long have you been doing this? Let's see where your experience is so that we can meet you where you are. And then finding and feeding resources. I don't know all the answers, but I can find resources that can direct us to the right answers.
Daniel Peters: Sarah, you have been recognized Aquatic International Power Issue honoree and ⁓ AOAP speaker. What does that recognition mean to you?
Sarah Cheshire: I'm flattered, honestly. I'm honored and super grateful recognition. I feel like a bit of an imposter in this, because I'm just an inspector doing my job. But I'm grateful that I have been recognized this. It gives me a little bit of credibility. And I'm grateful for the people that I was recognized with. incredible people, amazing people that I am in league with. They're my peers. That's pretty exciting. it makes me, ⁓ I don't overwhelmed a little bit, ⁓ but it me credibility saying that, I've hard, I've done what I'm supposed to do, and I'm making a difference, and I'm a subject matter and you can turn to me as a resource.
Kirsten Barnes: I think it's worth stating that both of those honors means that your peers recognized you, right? You were nominated by someone for the power issue, the evaluations of the sessions that you had at conference drive, the power speaker recognition. So I think there's a lot of weight to that that feels very important and hopefully lifts us up on those days when no one wants to listen to us, right? ⁓
Sarah Cheshire: Yes, which unfortunately is more frequent than we'd hoped, right?
Kirsten Barnes: True story. ⁓ So thinking of that, Sarah, how do those honors connect you to the work that you're trying to do in the field?
Sarah Cheshire: That's a good question. So health inspectors generally are, it's a predominantly male society, right? And sometimes it's hard for people to recognize ⁓ female in this field. So those honors really help, especially that's become a subject matter It gives me confidence because I have been recognized or nominated by peers in my field or recognized by that have listened to presentations and taken that home and. made changes because of that. It gives me credibility. people can ask me questions. I've learned. ⁓ had experiences that I can share and hopefully those experiences build and help people become better.
Daniel Peters: in sharing those experiences when people hear you speak at AOAP, ⁓ is something that you hope that they take away?
Sarah Cheshire: I try to always give them homework, right? Here's your takeaway assignment. What are you going to learn from this? my presentation on CryptoSparidium, for instance, I shared a bunch of advertisements that we had done in Utah. CryptoMan, if you ever want to look that up, that's a good one. And once you see it, you cannot unsee it. So people will remember CryptoMan. I just try give them something that they can take home and immediately. ⁓
Daniel Peters: you
Sarah Cheshire: incorporate in their practice or in their pool to make it healthy and safe. Whether that's just make a friend with your health inspector or whether that's here's an educational piece that you can use in your facility to prevent people from getting in your pool if they have if they're sick.
Kirsten Barnes: I love it. Sarah, you've built your career around protecting health and improving systems, which can be heavy work some of the time. What keeps you motivated day to day?
Sarah Cheshire: I think it goes back to that Batman concept, right? That behind the scenes, we're saving lives as good operators, as good health inspectors, right? As we work together, as we collaborate. And we may not know how many lives that we save or how many people we've prevent from getting sick, but it's that behind the scenes, like we're protecting public health. We're... We're putting on our capes and our tights and getting our Batmobile ⁓ and saving world one swimming pool at a time.
Daniel Peters: I love that analogy. All right. So lightning round time questions quick answers, right? What's one every aquatic facility should never ignore?
Sarah Cheshire: Drain covers, make sure they're in place before you open. And the reason for that, this ensures that the water is clear enough that you can see the bottom, right? So there's a couple two-fold things there. And then it makes sure that people are protected from suction and trapment issues.
Kirsten Barnes: Love it. What's one trend that you're tracking really closely right now?
Sarah Cheshire: Cold plunge pools, a new emerging trend. I'm working to write guidance with different agencies. I'm working with NSF on testing equipment. We're working with PHA to write some regulations. ⁓ The aquatic ⁓ health ⁓ is coming up with a cold plunge guidance document that should be out probably 1st of July. So we're pretty close to that. But working with some of these agencies on cold plunge to say, what are the health risks? How can we keep people safe?
Daniel Peters: What's one myth about pool health or inspections that you'd like to correct?
Sarah Cheshire: Health inspectors are not there to shut down your pools. A lot of people say, well, the only thing the health inspector's there is to find something wrong and close my pool. That's not our goal. That's the last thing we want to do, because that's a lot more paperwork for us when we close a pool, right? We want to make sure that they're healthy and safe, and we want to protect people getting into your pools.
Daniel Peters: you
Kirsten Barnes: Awesome. Sarah, what's your favorite part of teaching or speaking?
Sarah Cheshire: Seeing the light bulb, watching people go, ⁓ I've never thought of it that way. Or watching people get excited about something like, how am I gonna take this and incorporate it into my pool? Or how am I gonna change what I do so that we can make my situation safer or healthier?
Daniel Peters: one. What's one word that describes your approach to public health?
Sarah Cheshire: Collaboration. I think the more that we collaborate and cooperate together, we can bounce ideas off each other. I'm not in those facilities every day as an inspector, you are as an operator. Let's work together and collaborate on how we can things healthier and safer for everybody.
Kirsten Barnes: Well, Sarah, thank you so much for your time and for sharing your expertise and your perspective and just your passion about keeping facilities healthy and safe. The work that you do and the way that you communicate with people, I think shows how science rules and communication and then those practical field experiences can all come together to make a real difference. And most importantly, now we know if we need to send the bat signal out, who's going to respond to us?
Sarah Cheshire: you Go public health!
Daniel Peters: All right We'll include links to the Mac and AOAP resources any other relevant information in the show notes We hope this episode gives you a better appreciation for the public health work that supports safe aquatic spaces every day Thanks for listening and we'll see you next time on AOAP's discussion from the deep end a podcast made for aquatic professionals by aquatic professionals
Kirsten Barnes: Sarah is an environmental health scientist with the Utah Department of Health and Human Services, where she works on pool inspections, public health, and role development. She's also been deeply involved as an ambassador with the Model Aquatic Health Code, or the MAC, and she's helping translate that knowledge into practical updates as new design and technology trends emerge. Sarah was also recognized as a 2026 Aquatics International Power Issue Honoree and an AOAP Power Speaker. And we're excited to hear more about how her experience in environmental health shapes the way she approaches aquatic safety. Welcome, Sarah.
Sarah Cheshire: Thank you, I'm glad to be here.
Daniel Peters: We're just going to get started. We'll talk about kind of your path into public health. You've had really interesting path. ⁓ can you us how you first got interested in science and what led you into public health work?
Sarah Cheshire: Yeah, so I started out as a sampler, a water technician and a sampler. I would go around to all different types of water facilities, so drinking water facilities, pools, spas, wastewater, splash pads, ⁓ water. I collect all these samples and then I take them back to ⁓ public health laboratory, a small public health laboratory ⁓ we would test them for coliform bacteria and other contaminants. that was my first exposure to public health. That was something that I thought, no, somebody does this. They protect our drinking water. They make sure our pools are safe. That was one of the things that I was like, somebody does this? I had no idea. And I loved ⁓ behind the scenes aspect. I like my job was important. Like I'm saving lives, I'm protecting public health, but nobody knows. It's kind of that. Batman type thing. Nobody knows who this hero is, right? Saving lives. I think that's what really caught my attention was that people do this ⁓ protect people without doing it for glory or for recognition.
Kirsten Barnes: I love it. I'm only calling health inspectors Batman from now on. That's fabulous. ⁓ Sarah, how did those early experiences as a lab technician really shape the way that you think about aquatic safety today? ⁓
Sarah Cheshire: Yes! ⁓
Daniel Peters: you
Sarah Cheshire: ⁓ water, ⁓ feel is a basic human need, right? We can't live without it. And that's drinking water. But ⁓ such fun place and a good place to recreate too. And you need that balance, that exercise, that work-life balance, right? A place to get away and escape and to recreate. But we have to be aware of the risks and be able to mitigate those risks. And that's what really caught my eye. Again, the behind the scenes, right? How do we keep people safe when they're trying to have fun? that's what caught eye and my interest. That's why I thought education and training were so important.
Daniel Peters: What was it about the pool and spa work that kept pulling you in? You said ⁓ that was kind of your interest but to kind of get to where you are now, like what part of those areas just couldn't keep you out?
Sarah Cheshire: training and the education. Pools are so ⁓ There's so many aspects. There's the learn to swim programs that reduce or prevent drownings and injuries. There's the operations side of it that you could go into so many different aspects of the operations side. Pumps, filters, disinfection, all of different things. And ⁓ outbreaks. That's really what pulled me into the public health part of it. is how can we prevent these disease outbreaks, these injuries, these drownings that we see in aquatic facilities? How can we be the Batman and protect public health?
Kirsten Barnes: That's awesome. So when you started really getting into pools and spas and doing these inspections and surveys, what surprised you most about the way that public health and aquatics operators really interact?
Sarah Cheshire: I think that a lot of people look at health inspectors as the enemy. You prepare your elevator speech. I literally did this in an elevator once at a conference I was at. I was riding in the elevator and this lady says, well, what do you do for a living? And I said, I'm a health inspector. And she goes, ⁓ you don't have any friends, do you? And I was like, really? ⁓ But health inspectors, right? You don't have clean food. You don't have. clean water, you don't have a place to dispose of your trash, right? There's diseases, there's all of these things. And so I think that's what surprised me about that conflict of aquatics industry and health inspectors is that perception. And in reality, we're all on the same page. We're all on the same team. We want healthy, safe places to recreate, to play in the water and to have fun.
Daniel Peters: It's funny you say that as an operator too, you hear those like, ⁓ the health inspector's here. it's like, ⁓ ⁓ that the reaction that we always get? But it's just kind of the stigma that's been around, I guess, for lack of a better ⁓ ⁓ What do you think? No, ⁓ no way that's true. ⁓
Sarah Cheshire: Yeah. Yeah, I don't have any friends.
Daniel Peters: What do you think people outside of the field misunderstand about the work health inspectors do like this ties back into? Why they think you guys don't have any friends?
Sarah Cheshire: I think they see us as regulators and we're mean and the only reason that we come to the pool is to shut them down. We're gonna find something and we're gonna close your pool. And that's not the case. I think 99.9 % of our job as health inspectors is to educate, right? To work out the kinks, to mitigate the risks, to try to make things healthy and as safe as possible. And we're a new perspective. Operators see the day-to-day things that are happening in their pool. We come in and we may not recognize that the pump winds a little bit different today, because we don't hear it every day, but we see that different perspective and that different items from a health and safety that we get to share with those people or those operators. And in true form, we want to make your job easier too. We want to protect you as an operator by hey, we don't want to make somebody sick. This could, so let's fix it. Let's work together and fix it.
Kirsten Barnes: One of the ways that operators and health inspectors work together is through the Model Aquatic Health Code. listeners who maybe are not quite so familiar with Model Aquatic Health Code, how would you describe the MAC and why it matters, even if my state doesn't require that I follow it?
Sarah Cheshire: love it. A lot of states don't adopt the MAC ⁓ or the Model Aquatic Health Code outright, but it's still an important piece for operators and for people to look at. So the Model Aquatic Health Code is a set of voluntary science-based guidelines. It's published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It's published to prevent ⁓ and injury in public swimming pools, hot tubs, splash pads, any aquatic venue. that people have access to. It provides a comprehensive modern standard for design and construction, but it also includes operation and maintenance and training requirements for, lifeguards or other operators in there for any aquatic facilities. the model aquatic health code was written to reduce cryptosporidium outbreaks. That's what the driving force ⁓ it. ⁓ But it also stretches into reducing chemical injuries, reducing drownings. was written for public health officials as a guidance document to say, hey, how can we keep these aquatic venues safe? And thing I really love about the Model Aquatic Health Code is it's free and it's easily available. You can log online and anybody can read the Model Aquatic Health Code. ⁓ Anybody join the council for the Model Aquatic Health Code and get involved and be able to read the scientific studies or turn in change requests and be a voice for good for the model aquatic health code. ⁓ tries, it's updated every three to five years, tries to keep up with those emerging trends that come in aquatics. And again, covers all aspects from design and construction and plan review to operation and maintenance. And there's a lot of industries involved in writing it, public health involved in writing it, a lot of collaboration to develop this document.
Kirsten Barnes: It's super comprehensive and it's also good nighttime reading if you need to, know, 194 pages to really get you settled in for the evening.
Sarah Cheshire: you And I love that, Kirsten. It's not only a nighttime reading, yeah, it's long because it is so comprehensive, but then you add the annex into it and there's even more length, right? So what the annex is, it explains the why behind the code. So if code says you have to have a six foot fence, ⁓ you in the annex, you have to have a six foot fence to prevent unauthorized access by children that maybe don't know to swim or whatever it happens to be. That's just one quick example. the annex again, yes, long document because it's pretty comprehensive. And I really think that's why a lot of states or jurisdictions haven't adopted it is because it is so comprehensive, but we take and we piecemeal it and use it as an influencer for our regulations and codes.
Kirsten Barnes: And I love that you said that, it's an influencer. It's also a standard of care, right? So even if my state hasn't adopted it, ⁓ always a document that I can go back to and say, hey, this is what I need to do. And here's the justification why. It's such a great piece, even if it's not required.
Sarah Cheshire: Yeah, I love that as well. Regulations and codes. So in my legislative statute, so that's where I get my authority to write rules. the legislative authority, it tells us to write minimum standards. These are minimum requirements. The MAC goes way above and beyond that. So for operators or for inspectors or people that want to go above and beyond and use the best practices, the is definitely a good guidance document for that.
Daniel Peters: Well, you said free so people like free we're hoping that with this podcast and the education piece that you're able to provide and that free concept we're gonna get some more people whether they required or not to start start the reading process How has the Mac influenced the way you think about healthier and safer aquatic facilities
Sarah Cheshire: Right. I love that you as influence. think that's what the Mac is. It's an influencer. So in Utah, we don't regulate float tanks, ⁓ as an example. But if somebody in and wants to design or open a float tank, I can refer them to the Mac and say, hey, these are the requirements. These are the standard of care that you want to use and look into if you want to open one of these, even if I'm not the one that's coming in and giving you a permit or regulating that. I love the annex because I can go into a facility ⁓ I've taken pieces ⁓ from the Mac and adopted them ⁓ word for word into our rule as can. Then I can go back and say, okay, you're not meeting this part of my rule. Here's the annex. This explains why. ⁓ If can explain the why to the operator or to the person that you're talking to, then they understand the intent the reason for that. rule. Why are you doing this? Well, we want to protect public health by why are you requiring a shower so that you can clean off the fecal stuff on your backside you get into the pool that could potentially make somebody sick, right? So here's the why behind it and I love that. That's what the Mac does.
Kirsten Barnes: One of things I love about the Mac too is that for the operator who already gets it, it gives them a why to give to the, maybe the leadership in their agency, their community, their organization, who doesn't understand? So it gives that information there with a little bit of muscle of the CDC to back it up, right? So.
Sarah Cheshire: I love that you said that, Kirsten. I'm gonna jump in on that really quick. I hope that relationship between the operator and the inspector, I hope that's something that the operator sees that the inspector could do for them as well. you see something that you want fixed because you're there day to day operating the pool, tell your health inspector to write it on their inspection. A lot of times when you write it on their inspection, ⁓
Kirsten Barnes: Yeah, yeah!
Sarah Cheshire: powers that be, maybe your manager or the city council or the board of health or somebody above you that makes those decisions can see, the health inspector saw this too. So helps. It's a win-win collaboration, cooperation experience.
Kirsten Barnes: I love this thought of moving from adversaries into collaborators to help make things safer. That's awesome. So Sarah, talk to us little bit about what it takes to turn a code or a rule from something that's just written on paper to something that actually works in the real world.
Sarah Cheshire: That's a good question and it's a tricky question to do, right? And I think that comes back to what we just said is that collaboration and that cooperation. I think lot of people think I'm just a paper pusher, right? I'm just writing down rules and I don't actually know what's happening, but that's where getting out and talking to operators, talking to industry, visiting sites, being in pools, watching how pumps work, seeing if it's feasible. I think that's where the rubber meets the road. And that's where I can take the inspection experience back to the rule writing and say, hey, is this enforceable? yeah, it's good that we tell people to shower, but is it enforceable? Is it something that I can actually make work? And that's where experienced as an operator or being experienced as an inspector and making those collaborations and those connections really make the paper become real and active.
Daniel Peters: In the world of aquatics, it's constantly changing, sometimes quicker than other times, but ⁓ new trends and things that are always occurring in our real life. What some of the trends that you guys are seeing that facility operators should be paying attention to?
Sarah Cheshire: I love this question. So really, in reality, nobody builds a rectangular pool anymore. It's always bigger, stronger, faster, more fun, more exciting. And that's terrifying for a health inspector or plan reviewer because we know how to do the rectangle stuff. We're really pretty good at that, right? But when you add a different feature or when you add ⁓ Induction current. Okay, now we have to assess what's the risk? How are we going to adapt? Are we going to transmit more disease through this? Hey, what if you use a different disinfectant? Now what are we going to do? And that becomes really tricky. So the trends that we're seeing right now is just bigger, stronger, faster, more fun. There's designers and engineers that are becoming more and more creative. We have action rivers coming in. which a lazy river is one thing, but an action river that has surfing and tubes. have artificial swimming lagoons. Those are new and huge. We have one in our state that's coming in that's 11 and a half acres of water. That's the surface area. That's a huge amount of water. And how do you keep it clean? And how do you keep the ducks out really, right? Not to mention people. We have surf parks. So now we're surfing, we're creating waves before was in the ocean. Now creating them in a smaller body of water, smaller, just not ocean size, right? ⁓ Still large body of water, but surf parks are coming in. Cold plunge pools, okay, now we're jumping into ice water. What are the health risks? How do we keep on top of those so that people don't hurt themselves?
Kirsten Barnes: So you talked about lot trends that are really starting to pop up and gain a lot of traction right now. ⁓ How you as a health inspector or as part of the board for MAC, decide what trends are worth incorporating into guidance and which ones need more time and evidence? ⁓
Sarah Cheshire: Good question. So if they can fit into our rule, ⁓ they can be built, right? But a lot of these can't fit. They have to have a variance of some sort. So they go through a variance process. And that's when we assess the risk. There's a perception that if it's open to the public, that it must be safe. And that's our job as an advisory board or a rule writing agency to make sure that they are safe before they open to the public. ⁓ important questions need to be considered like what are the risks? Who's going to get sick or what's the likelihood of an associated illness or injury with this particular facility? How do we manage and mitigate those risks so that businesses can be innovative, expand technology and do the fun, big, fast, exciting things without being regulated to death so that they can't do those fun, big, fast things? How do we prevent the uninformed public from jumping into something that may cause harm to themselves or others? How do we teach them, you know, it's not safe to get into cold plunge if you have these health conditions. then the real trick is how do we balance all this in a political and economic era where it's rapidly moving away from business regulation? They're saying, don't come in and regulate me. Be ⁓ more innovative. And so that's a really tricky question and those are the questions that we have to ask.
Kirsten Barnes: Well, and isn't that such a big piece of our industry is people want that perceived risk, but they still want it to be safe. So how do you balance all of those things?
Sarah Cheshire: Exactly.
Daniel Peters: It's a fine line I'm sure that being tiptoed by both sides you guys and the pool operator so
Sarah Cheshire: going to, sorry, ⁓ I'm going to say regulation is written retroactively right? Something happens and they say, well, why weren't you there health department? Why didn't you protect public health? ⁓ So it's really tricky to be proactive and say, look, cold plunge pools coming. Let's assess the risks before we start allowing them.
Daniel Peters: No, go for it.
Sarah Cheshire: to come in and be open. Most people are like, no, let me do it. And then if something happens, come in retroactively and say, well, we're making this rule because this accident and these terrible tragedies. So we hope to be a little bit more proactive. But again, in the economic and environment that we are, that ⁓ becomes really
Daniel Peters: Because those aren't the people that are making the decisions that it's ⁓ the people understand the proactive piece are the aquatic people but ⁓ It's above level some time. So ⁓ you spend a lot of time talking about cryptosporidium and keeping poop out of public pools Why is that message still so important?
Sarah Cheshire: Crypto is tricky. The reason we want to keep crypto out is because it's resistant to chlorine. So even in the best maintained pools, perfect disinfection all the time, you can have crypto. the key for that is educating the public. Typically, public doesn't know that if they poop in the pool, they're going to make somebody sick. They think, ⁓ I can swim. In fact, a great ⁓ YouTube clip of Duck Dynasty and Uncle Psy saying that how many days has it been since you've had diarrhea and he's counting on his fingers and he can't remember. So there's a public perception that well we want to have fun too but they don't understand the flip side that's gonna make somebody sick. And ⁓ don't until nine to fourteen days that somebody's sick from crypto so we can't do any of that proactive stuff. It's all about educating the public on crypto and saying, hey, if you're sick, please stay out. You don't want to get in a pool and make somebody else sick. think nobody in a pool saying, ha ha, watch this, I've got diarrhea. I'm going to make somebody sick, right? I don't think the general public does that. I think if they know and they're educated, they're not going to get in the pool and make somebody sick.
Daniel Peters: It's that education piece. We're taking those preventative measures.
Kirsten Barnes: Thank you.
Sarah Cheshire: Absolutely.
Kirsten Barnes: So Sarah, a lot of your work really seems to sit at this intersection of education and enforcement. How do you approach helping people understand the why behind rules like the ones we just talked about?
Sarah Cheshire: Right, I think it's just being open, honest, and transparent. You go into an inspection, you introduce yourself, you say, hey, I'm here to help. And I know that's kind of, Batman, I'm here to help, right? I don't know, want to go in and you want to educate, right? I think if you tell the operators, if people get in while they're sick, they can make others sick and then you're liable as an operator. I think if you approach it as, we want to work together, we want to eliminate risks, ⁓ we to make this as safe as possible. And my job as a health inspector is not to close your pool. My job is to keep it open and healthy and safe and everybody in a good place. not to say that I don't close pools because I will close a pool if you have an imminent health risk or something and that protects the operator just as much as it does the public, right? Because if somebody drowns or dies in your pool, that's not a good thing for an operator. So we want to make sure that we just collaborate and work together to fix any issues. And inspector is a different set of eyes. It's a different perspective. We come ⁓ looking for different things. And think as an operator, sometimes we get blinded ⁓ the day-to-day stuff. Like we don't see this because we see it every day. But new coming in gives us a different perspective and an opportunity to learn and grow and make everything better.
Daniel Peters: When you you talk about perspective the perspective of an inspector what makes a good experience, ⁓
Sarah Cheshire: I think it's when you find a risk, you notify the operator of the risk, you collaborate on a process of how you're going to fix or mitigate that risk, and you both leave with a better understanding of how to make that pool safe. do think it comes back to that collaboration, that cooperation, we're on the same team. Let's keep this pool open, operating, and let's keep our patrons safe.
Kirsten Barnes: Absolutely. And ⁓ we all that's what we want when we step out on the pool deck. So Sarah, how do you communicate really serious public health issues in a way that people will actually hear and remember and just not tune out because they've heard it too much or because it sounds too scary?
Sarah Cheshire: like that question. It reminds me of signs, right? We require all of these signs and then nobody reads them, right? Because it's just a list of words on there. So have to be creative. You have have things like this podcast or you have to have public service announcements or CDC does a lot of gifts that they post reminds me of signs, right? We require all of these signs and then nobody reads them, right? Because it's just a list of words on there. So you have to be You have to have things like podcast or you have to have public service announcements or CDC does a lot of gifts that they post or... Social media really affects people. If they see it on social media, they'll remember it, right? So that's a lot of places that we can work as inspectors to spread the word. Social media really affects people. If they see it on social media, they'll remember it, right? So that's a lot of places that we can work as inspectors to spread the word. a lot messages going out. Hey, remember it's swim season. Remember to shower before you get in the pool. Remember, don't poop in the pool because that will make people sick, right? That's how we proactively, so ⁓ being innovative and creative trying to find these social media outlets or other places that we can educate the public because I think education is the key. a lot messages going out. Hey, remember it's swim season. Remember to shower before you get in the pool. Remember, don't poop in the pool because that will make people sick, right? That's how we proactively, so ⁓ being innovative and creative trying to find these social media outlets or other places that we can educate the public because I think education is the key.
Daniel Peters: what advice would you give to operators or staff who want to be proactive but aren't sure where to begin, where to start that process?
Sarah Cheshire: First thing I would tell them is read the Mac. I know it's like 200 pages, but go in and look it up, read it. Or pick a topic in there and say, hey, I'm gonna study about section outlet fitting assemblies. Now I'm gonna read that section and study that section, right? So start with the Mac. It's the best practices. next thing I would about is make friends with your health inspector. We like to have friends. And we're on the same page, right? We want to make sure that we're helping you. And don't know everything. I will be the first person to tell you that I don't know everything. But we do have resources, and we do have connections, and we've networked, and we can get you to people that do know. Or we can study it and do our research and ⁓ you figure out the best for your facility.
Kirsten Barnes: So know, Sarah, we talked about communicating public health issues in a way that sticks. You've also taught a lot of CPO classes and worked with a lot of different audiences. What approach helps technical information stick with people in the field?
Sarah Cheshire: I think the key to good operator or a operator ⁓ is meeting where they are. I have people my CPO class that haven't even been in the pump room, so they don't know anything about pools, right? And pools have their own language. When I say filter, I say sofa, or I say aquatic venue, there's a different language that a lot of people don't understand. So making sure that you speak the same language first, and number two, meeting people where they are. of my first questions when I teach a class is, where are from? What type of pool do you have and how long have you been doing this? Let's see where your experience is so that we can meet you where you are. And then finding and feeding resources. I don't know all the answers, but I can find resources that can direct us to the right answers.
Daniel Peters: Sarah, you have been recognized Aquatic International Power Issue honoree and ⁓ AOAP speaker. What does that recognition mean to you?
Sarah Cheshire: I'm flattered, honestly. I'm honored and super grateful recognition. I feel like a bit of an imposter in this, because I'm just an inspector doing my job. But I'm grateful that I have been recognized this. It gives me a little bit of credibility. And I'm grateful for the people that I was recognized with. incredible people, amazing people that I am in league with. They're my peers. That's pretty exciting. it makes me, ⁓ I don't overwhelmed a little bit, ⁓ but it me credibility saying that, I've hard, I've done what I'm supposed to do, and I'm making a difference, and I'm a subject matter and you can turn to me as a resource.
Kirsten Barnes: I think it's worth stating that both of those honors means that your peers recognized you, right? You were nominated by someone for the power issue, the evaluations of the sessions that you had at conference drive, the power speaker recognition. So I think there's a lot of weight to that that feels very important and hopefully lifts us up on those days when no one wants to listen to us, right? ⁓
Sarah Cheshire: Yes, which unfortunately is more frequent than we'd hoped, right?
Kirsten Barnes: True story. ⁓ So thinking of that, Sarah, how do those honors connect you to the work that you're trying to do in the field?
Sarah Cheshire: That's a good question. So health inspectors generally are, it's a predominantly male society, right? And sometimes it's hard for people to recognize ⁓ female in this field. So those honors really help, especially that's become a subject matter It gives me confidence because I have been recognized or nominated by peers in my field or recognized by that have listened to presentations and taken that home and. made changes because of that. It gives me credibility. people can ask me questions. I've learned. ⁓ had experiences that I can share and hopefully those experiences build and help people become better.
Daniel Peters: in sharing those experiences when people hear you speak at AOAP, ⁓ is something that you hope that they take away?
Sarah Cheshire: I try to always give them homework, right? Here's your takeaway assignment. What are you going to learn from this? my presentation on CryptoSparidium, for instance, I shared a bunch of advertisements that we had done in Utah. CryptoMan, if you ever want to look that up, that's a good one. And once you see it, you cannot unsee it. So people will remember CryptoMan. I just try give them something that they can take home and immediately. ⁓
Daniel Peters: you
Sarah Cheshire: incorporate in their practice or in their pool to make it healthy and safe. Whether that's just make a friend with your health inspector or whether that's here's an educational piece that you can use in your facility to prevent people from getting in your pool if they have if they're sick.
Kirsten Barnes: I love it. Sarah, you've built your career around protecting health and improving systems, which can be heavy work some of the time. What keeps you motivated day to day?
Sarah Cheshire: I think it goes back to that Batman concept, right? That behind the scenes, we're saving lives as good operators, as good health inspectors, right? As we work together, as we collaborate. And we may not know how many lives that we save or how many people we've prevent from getting sick, but it's that behind the scenes, like we're protecting public health. We're... We're putting on our capes and our tights and getting our Batmobile ⁓ and saving world one swimming pool at a time.
Daniel Peters: I love that analogy. All right. So lightning round time questions quick answers, right? What's one every aquatic facility should never ignore?
Sarah Cheshire: Drain covers, make sure they're in place before you open. And the reason for that, this ensures that the water is clear enough that you can see the bottom, right? So there's a couple two-fold things there. And then it makes sure that people are protected from suction and trapment issues.
Kirsten Barnes: Love it. What's one trend that you're tracking really closely right now?
Sarah Cheshire: Cold plunge pools, a new emerging trend. I'm working to write guidance with different agencies. I'm working with NSF on testing equipment. We're working with PHA to write some regulations. ⁓ The aquatic ⁓ health ⁓ is coming up with a cold plunge guidance document that should be out probably 1st of July. So we're pretty close to that. But working with some of these agencies on cold plunge to say, what are the health risks? How can we keep people safe?
Daniel Peters: What's one myth about pool health or inspections that you'd like to correct?
Sarah Cheshire: Health inspectors are not there to shut down your pools. A lot of people say, well, the only thing the health inspector's there is to find something wrong and close my pool. That's not our goal. That's the last thing we want to do, because that's a lot more paperwork for us when we close a pool, right? We want to make sure that they're healthy and safe, and we want to protect people getting into your pools.
Daniel Peters: you
Kirsten Barnes: Awesome. Sarah, what's your favorite part of teaching or speaking?
Sarah Cheshire: Seeing the light bulb, watching people go, ⁓ I've never thought of it that way. Or watching people get excited about something like, how am I gonna take this and incorporate it into my pool? Or how am I gonna change what I do so that we can make my situation safer or healthier?
Daniel Peters: one. What's one word that describes your approach to public health?
Sarah Cheshire: Collaboration. I think the more that we collaborate and cooperate together, we can bounce ideas off each other. I'm not in those facilities every day as an inspector, you are as an operator. Let's work together and collaborate on how we can things healthier and safer for everybody.
Kirsten Barnes: Well, Sarah, thank you so much for your time and for sharing your expertise and your perspective and just your passion about keeping facilities healthy and safe. The work that you do and the way that you communicate with people, I think shows how science rules and communication and then those practical field experiences can all come together to make a real difference. And most importantly, now we know if we need to send the bat signal out, who's going to respond to us?
Sarah Cheshire: you Go public health!
Daniel Peters: All right We'll include links to the Mac and AOAP resources any other relevant information in the show notes We hope this episode gives you a better appreciation for the public health work that supports safe aquatic spaces every day Thanks for listening and we'll see you next time on AOAP's discussion from the deep end a podcast made for aquatic professionals by aquatic professionals
