DROWNING FACTS AND PREVENTION CHECKLIST

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THE FACTS

 

In the United States, drowning is the second leading cause of unintentional death from injury for persons ages five (5) through forty-four (44).
[Source: Injury Fact Book]
 
Drowning is the leading cause of unintentional death from injury for those fourteen (14) years of age and under.
 
[SAFE KIDS ARE NO ACCIDENT]There are over seven thousand (7,000) drowning deaths nationally each year. [Source: National Safety Council]
 
In Hawaii, approximately sixty-one (61) persons - residents, military, and visitors - drown each year [with an average of thirty-six (36) residents drowning per year], according to the State Department of Health.
 
Hundreds (700 to 850) of persons are rescued from the ocean surrounding the island of O`ahu each year.
[Source: City and County of Honolulu, Emergency Services Department, Ocean Safety and Lifeguard Services Division ]
 
[KIDS SWIMMING]In a study conducted by the City and County of Honolulu's Department of Parks and Recreation involving more than six thousand (6,000) youngsters age seven through fourteen (7-14), seventy (70)% of them could not swim fifty (50) yards. [Source: City and County of Honolulu, Department of Parks and Recreation]

 

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SUBMERSION HOSPITALIZATIONS
OF CHILDREN IN HAWAI`I
1989 - 1990

 

Sixty-seven (67) children were hospitalized due to submersion in 1989 & 1990; for children seventeen (17) years and younger, the average age was six (6).
 
Near-drownings in natural bodies of water accounted for sixty (60)% of the hospitalizations; the average age was seven (7).
 
[A POOL]Pool near-drownings accounted for thirty (30)% of the hospitalizations; the average age was four (4) years old.
 
Ten (10)% of all submersions occurred in the bathtub or toilet; the average child was one (1) year old.
 
[Source: Pacific Basin Rehabilitation
Research and Training Center, April, 1993]

 

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  • [THINGS TO DO] SAFEKIDS SAFETY CHECK AMERICA

     

    DROWNING PREVENTION CHECKLIST
    ESPECIALLY FOR PARENTS:

  • [CHECKMARK]Supervise all young children while they are in, on, or near the water. Drownings and near-drownings occur in familiar surroundings during very short lapses in supervision.
     
  • [CHECKMARK]Do not have older siblings watch younger children in the water. They are not trained or mature enough to be given such a responsibility.
     
  • [CHECKMARK]Take a CPR course. Know what to do in case of an emergency. And when there's an emergency - Don't Stall, Call 911!
     
  • [CHECKMARK]Do not rely on floatation devices or swimming lessons to protect a child. Children are not waterproof.
     
  • [CHECKMARK]Keep a portable telephone by the pool/hottub/spa.
     
  • [CHECKMARK]Surround your pool, hottub or spa with four-sided fencing which does not include your house as one side. Children should not be able to access home pools.
     

 

 

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FOR MORE INFORMATION
or to get involved in local drowning prevention activities call the
Keiki Injury Prevention Coalition/ SAFE KIDS Campaign® Hawai'i
at
[586-5940]

 

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The Keiki Injury Prevention Coalition is a collaboration of seventy (70) organizations, agencies and individuals that addresses childhood injury prevention and control.
The project is also complemented by other activities of the State of Hawai`i, Department of Health's Injury Prevention and Control Program, which includes facilitating and providing leadership for the

  • Injury Prevention Advisory Committee;
  • the Hawai`i Firearms Control Coalition; and
  • the vehicular Safety Helmet Coalition.

These groups essentially form the strong core of an injury prevention network and address the spectrum of injuries across all ages.

 

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