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For immediate release: June 29, 2004 (04-076)
Contacts:
Diane Pilkey, Maternal and
Child Health 360-236-3526
Kate Lynch, Communications Office
360-236-4072
Many families head for the water for summer fun
OLYMPIA ¾ Many families take to our state’s wonderful waterways on July 4th weekend and are often unprepared. Each year an average of 27 Washington children under the age of 18 drown, most in open water such as lakes, rivers, ponds or creeks. Another 30 children in Washington are hospitalized annually after nearly drowning. Drowning deaths of Washington children are highest in the summer and peak in August.
"Independence Day weekend is when many families begin summer recreation on the water — and risk drowning because they are not prepared. It’s tragic but sadder still because these are preventable events," says State Health Officer Dr. Maxine Hayes. "By using life jackets regularly and constantly supervising children who are in or near water, drowning can be prevented."
A recently released report from the Washington State Department of Health reviewed 67 deaths of children who drowned between 1999 and 2001, and found that two were wearing life jackets at the time of death. In one of those two deaths, the life jacket did not fit the child. The other child was wearing a life jacket, but there is no information about the type or fitting of the life jacket.
More than half of the drowning deaths among children under age 18 occurred in open water. Open water in Washington presents special hazards to anyone – regardless of age or swimming ability – such as cool water temperature, sudden drop-offs, submerged hazards, and changing water currents.
The report, "Washington Child Death Review State Committee Recommendations on Child Drowning Prevention," is the fourth in a series of reports based on 1999-2001 information gathered by local child death review (CDR) teams. The Child Drowning Prevention Report ( http://www.doh.wa.gov/cfh/mch/documents/Child_Drowning_Prevention.pdf ) is available online for more information.
The prevention strategies in this report target parents and caregivers, educators, health providers, law enforcement and policy makers. Recommendations from the report focus on these key areas:
"This report draws the most complete picture we have of children drowning in this state," says Dr. Linda Quan, pediatric emergency medicine physician at Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Center and pediatrics professor at the University of Washington, School of Medicine. "It points out the need for us to focus on ways to chip away at these terrible losses. Our major risk in this state is open water. We need parents, families, and children to know their risks and minimize those risks by wearing personal flotation devices (life jackets) when on, in, or near open water."
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