PICATINNY ARSENAL, N.J. - The Enright Melanoma Foundation, a nonprofit organization, recently visited Picatinny Arsenal's Frog Falls Aquatic Water Park to teach its employees, water park members and guests about sun safety awareness.
"The key to avoiding melanoma is being sun smart," said Maureen Tsadilas, the Frog Falls business director.
"As many of you may know, our park is open seven days a week, which requires our staff to constantly be exposed to UV (ultraviolet) rays.
"For the safety of our employees, they are issued sun visors, t-shirts, and Broad Spectrum SPF 60, water resistant sunscreen, which we use six gallons of a summer."
She added that her staff is reminded to reapply sunscreen after each rotation around the pool.
The Enright foundation promotes sun safety awareness through workshops and online resources, including the free online training program, the Enright Sun Safety Certification ™ program, which was developed by skin cancer professionals.
Janet Horowitz, executive director of the Enright Melanoma Foundation, said that every eight minutes someone in the United States will be diagnosed with melanoma.
With skin cancer rates rapidly increasing, and melanoma now the most common cancer among young adults ages 25-29, there is an enormous need to educate young adults, about the dangers of over exposure to the sun and UV radiation.
"We have personally seen young children and babies with blisters on their shoulders because the parents never reapply the sunscreen during their stay at the park. As much as I stress reapplying sunscreen, parents ignore the warning," Tsadilas said.
Tsadilas's staff (the lifeguards, swim instructors, recreation aids, and pool operators) worked on the certifications during their 15 minute breaks throughout the summer.
From Frog Falls, 23 employees have become Enright Sun Safety Certified.
THE ENRIGHT MELANOMA FOUNDATION
Founded in 1999, the Enright Melanoma Foundation is a non-profit whose mission is to raise sun safety awareness in New Jersey and help prevent melanoma through education and early detection. The foundation is dedicated to Dr. Joseph Enright, an internist who lost his battle with malignant melanoma at 37.
To learn more, visit www.enrightmelanomafoundation.org.
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