This Father's Day, Prepare For Child Drowning Emergencies
According to a recent Centers for Disease Control report, overall drowning death rates in the United States have declined in the last decade; however, drowning is the leading cause of injury death among children aged 1-4 years.
Arizona remains second in the nation for child drownings in this age group. The report cites a peak in incidents on summer weekends. Holiday weekends can be especially dangerous, with changing routines and more relaxed safety rules. Last year, Father’s Day weekend ended in tragedy for one family in Apache Junction, when a four year old boy drowned in a backyard pool during a family party.
“While national trends in drowning are decreasing,” says Tiffaney Isaacson, Water Safety Coordinator for Water Watchers at Phoenix Children’s Hospital, “local trends still reflect an urgent need for families to prepare for emergencies.”
This Father’s Day weekend, and all year long, families should take these steps to prevent drownings:
- If a child is missing, check your pool area first, as well as your neighbor’s pools.
- Put constant, capable adult supervision in place during family swimming times. A capable supervisor is not only able to swim, but also has current CPR skills and knows how to apply them in a child drowning setting. For information on CPR classes at Phoenix Children’s Hospital, visit www.phoenixchildrens.com and follow the “Events and Classes” link.
- Teach children to yell for an adult if they see a victim in the swimming pool in distress, rather than trying to make a rescue themselves.
Water Watchers at Phoenix Children’s Hospital provides year ‘round programming to prevent child drownings, including participation in the S3 Learn-to-Swim program. The program is a partnership with Phoenix Children’s Hospital, United Phoenix Firefighters Association, St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center, and the Boys and Girls Clubs of Metropolitan Phoenix. The program runs throughout June and will include nearly 150 families this year.
Poolside event: Media are invited to attend a special poolside event at St. Joseph’s Hospital to observe the S3 Learn-to-Swim program in progress and hear Father’s Day water safety messages, on Wednesday June 13th at 9:30 am, at 3033 N. 7th Avenue, in Phoenix.
About Phoenix Children’s Hospital
Phoenix Children’s Hospital, ranked in U.S. News & World Report’s Best Children’s Hospitals, is Arizona’s only licensed children’s hospital, providing world-class inpatient, outpatient, trauma, emergency and urgent care to children and families in Arizona and throughout the Southwest. As one of the largest children’s hospitals in the country with 465 licensed beds, Phoenix Children’s provides care across nearly 50 pediatric specialties. The hospital is poised for continued growth in quality patient care, research and medical education. For more information about the hospital, visit www.phoenixchildrens.com.
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Media Contact:
Tiffaney Isaacson
(602) 933-1712
(480) 510-0965 Cell
Tisaacson@phoenixchildrens.com
