Safe Kids Issues Pool and Spa Safety Reminder
Media Contact: Mary Margaret Colliver, (859) 361-1887
LEXINGTON, Ky. (May 22, 2008) –Safe Kids Fayette County, led by UK HealthCare's Kentucky Children's Hospital, is reminding families about the serious risk of child drownings in pools and spas.
With pool season unofficially opening during Memorial Day weekend, the Neighborhood Safety Network (NSN), a project of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), reports there has been an increase in drownings.
The report indicates the national average number of drowning deaths involving children younger than 5 in pools and spas has increased from a yearly average of 267 (for 2002-2004) to 283 (for 2003-2005), with most of the incidents involving 1 to 2 year olds.
"Drowning occurs more commonly when children get access to the pool during a short lapse in adult supervision" said Sherri Hannan, coordinator of Safe Kids Fayette County. "To reduce the risk of drowning, pool owners should adopt several layers of protection, including physical barriers, such as a fence completely surrounding the pool with self-closing, self-latching gates to prevent unsupervised access by young children. If the house forms a side of the barrier, use alarms on doors leading to the pool area and/or a power safety cover over the pool."
Hannan says parents should use these tips to help prevent drowning deaths:
- Since every second counts, always look for a missing child in the pool first. Precious time is often wasted looking for missing children anywhere but in the pool.
- Don't leave toys and floats in the pool that can attract young children and cause them to fall into the water when they reach for the items.
- Inspect pools and spas for missing or broken drain covers.
- Do not allow children in a pool or spa with missing/broken covers. Inserting an arm or leg into the opening can result in powerful suction and total body submersion/drowning.
- For above-ground and inflatable pools with ladders, remove or secure the ladder when the pool is not in use.
- It is important to always be prepared for an emergency by having rescue equipment and a phone near the pool. Parents should learn CPR.
New CPSC data also shows that between 1999 and 2007 there were 74 reported incidents involving entrapment, resulting in nine deaths and 63 injuries. Six of the deaths occurred in pools and three occurred in spas and all of the deaths except for one involved children 14 or younger. These entrapment incidents involve being trapped by the force of suction at the drain and can occur because of a broken or missing outlet cover.
Parents, caregivers, and pool owners are encouraged to make safety a top priority at the pool and spa. The new “Partners in Drowning Prevention” PDF poster is available.
Safe Kids Fayette County works to prevent accidental childhood injury, the leading killer of children 14 and under. Its members include health professionals, school, police and fire officials, and community leaders. Safe Kids Lexington is a member of Safe Kids Worldwide, a global network of organizations dedicated to preventing accidental injury. Safe Kids Lexington was founded in 1993 and is led by UK HealthCare's Kentucky Children's Hospital. For more information, contact Safe Kids Lexington at (859) 323-1153.
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Charlie and I first became acquainted with the Safe Kids program through our work with local Kentucky Kiwanis Clubs. Our Kentucky insurance agency personal lines manager,
Mark Frantom is in-line to be president of our local Kiwanis club.
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