New concerns are being raised about Coast Guard members who spend years working in rough waters.
New concerns are being raised about Coast Guard members who spend years working in rough waters.
Rescue boat crews face repeated, violent wave impacts, raising concerns that those forces could cause brain injuries similar to those in contact sports. Now, the Coast Guard tells NBC6 they are prioritizing it with a new initiative to better protect its members.
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WATCH HERECoast Guard boat crews operate in some of the roughest conditions: search-and-rescue missions, high-speed operations and dangerous interdictions.
But now there’s growing attention on a risk not so obvious – what might be happening inside their brains, even when their heads never hit anything.
“These are like big, significant waves, and sometimes it's like hitting a concrete wall,” said Dr. Gillian Hotz, the director of the U Concussion Program at the University of Miami.
Dr. Hotz, a concussion specialist at the University of Miami, showed NBC6 how those sudden forces can cause the brain to move back and forth inside the skull.
“When you see some of these boats, and they're going up and down and like crashing and into big waves, and these guys are like you know sort of tossed all over. You know, a lot of these Coast Guard folks, they're in these jobs for life. So, just think about the years that they've been in these situations,” Dr. Hotz said.
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It's that exposure over time that's now getting attention.
The Coast Guard tells NBC6 it is taking action and has launched a new brain health initiative this year.
In a statement, a spokesperson called it a "comprehensive, service-wide effort" to proactively address the risks of brain injuries among personnel.
The initiative includes new protocols, screenings, education and a closer look at the risks members may face.
“They're right on the money. I've been doing this for high school sports for since 2012. We have a protocol. We have a surveillance system. We look for signs and symptoms. We do a lot of training,” Dr. Hotz said.
According to the U.S. Coast Guard, surfmen perform some of the service's most dangerous work. Their training takes an average of four years, preparing them to operate rescue boats in breaking surf of up to 20 feet.
Conditions the Coast Guard describes as “capable of humbling anyone in an instant.” Dr. Hotz says recognizing possible warning signs is critical.
“You look for those signs, which are behavior changes, sort of that sort of blank stare, confusion, disorientation. You know, some are sort of looking very clumsy. Also, speech patterns, and then they're complaining about headache and dizziness,” Dr. Hotz said.
She warns it's not just crew members who should be paying attention; the people who know them best might be the first to notice something is off.
“People who live with these people, like the families, the spouses, the kids, they're like the best judge of this because they see the changes in their loved one,” Dr. Hotz said.
The Coast Guard says the goal now is to better understand those risks and find ways to protect the people who spend their careers saving others.
This is not exclusive to Coast Guard members. Dr. Hotz said she sees this with wakeboarders and people who ride jet skis coming in with symptoms.
