LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — The death of a customer at a Las Vegas Athletic Club facility was cited as an important factor in the Southern Nevada Health District's decision to revoke a waiver that allowed LVAC to operate pools without an in-person lifeguard.
Video reviewed by the Health District showed the person who died was "in distress for approximately twenty minutes, without a response from LVAC," a district spokesperson stated in a news release on Thursday.
LVAC had appealed the Health District's decision revoking its in-person lifeguard waiver, which had allowed the company to monitor pool users via video camera.
The lifeguard waiver was originally granted to LVAC in 2020 and other gyms in the valley were later granted similar exceptions. But over four years of inspections, the health district says it determined "these waivers were not adequate to ensure the facilities were protecting the public after two serious incidents occurred, including death, and repeated failures by facilities to meet the requirements of the variance."
In fact, since the first lifeguard waivers were granted in 2020, SNHD says 29 pools have been closed at 21 locations due to their failure to comply with safety requirements. Some of those failures included failing to provide active remote monitoring of the pool area and documented walk-throughs of the pool area by athletic facility staff, according to SNHD.
The lifeguard waivers were developed in 2018 "after four years of extensive public workshops to solicit input from stakeholders and the public." The health district adds that it provided training during a one-year implementation period and made training available online. Regulations for aquatics centers are publicly available on SNHD's website.
In the wake of the health district's enforcement action, it says several impacted gym pools have since resumed operations under an approved plan, or have plans currently under review. Officials listed those locations as follows:
EōS Fitness:
- 3325 E. Russell Rd., Las Vegas, NV 89120
- 8125 W. Sahara Ave. Ste. 100, Las Vegas, NV 89117
- 4520 N. Scott Robinson Blvd., North Las Vegas, NV 89031
- 3511 St. Rose Pkwy., Henderson, NV 89052
UFC FIT (pending approval):
- 5651 Centennial Center Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89149
