Enhancing Water Safety

Drowning deaths are increasing in the United States for the first time in decades, according to a new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study. Florida has the dubious distinction of being No. 1 in drownings among

One example was a “call to action” press conference held in June by the NCH Safe and Healthy Children’s Coalition, including over 70 agencies in Collier County, to address the issue.

There have been 57 drowning deaths so far this year in Florida. Most recently, six adults drowned in rip currents in one incident off Stuart Beach in Martin County and two incidents off Panama City Beach. On June 13, an 8-year-old boy drowned when he fell overboard while fishing with his father at Boynton Inlet. In Southwest Florida, the most recent deaths are in Collier County, where a 6-year-old drowned in a pool in the Town of Ave Maria, and a father lost his life when he tried to rescue his 4-year-old autistic son from a pond. The child survived.

The two Collier County deaths, as well as three near drownings in the same week, are what prompted the NCH press conference. The coalition is focused on reducing drowning incidents in Collier County and has had success, said Paul Hiltz, president and CEO of NCH Healthcare System in Naples. “But more needs to be done to remind our community about the importance of water safety.”

Paul DeMello of Charlotte County knows well the agony that families of those drowning victims are feeling.

In 2010, DeMello lost his 13-month-old twin boys, Joshua and Christian, after they drowned during a visit to their grandparents’ home in Charlotte County.

“It was the worst day of my life. I remember getting that phone call like it was yesterday. It just totally brought me to my knees,” DeMello said. “I didn’t know what I was going to do. I didn’t even know if I could survive those emotions at that time.”

“I ended up thinking that maybe I could help others not experience the same thing that I had gone through,” DeMello said. So, he started the Just Against Children Drowning Foundation, based in Charlotte County. “Then what I realized is by helping others, I was helping myself,” he said. “So, it was almost like a form of therapy.”

Paul DeMello advocates for water safety through the Just Against Children Drowning Foundation, emphasizing prevention and education. COURTESY PHOTO

He said there was no safety fence in place around the pool in his children’s case.

“And, you know, children love the water. They’re explorers, they associate water time with bath time and just play and fun time. And they’re very curious.”

“I’ve come a long way,” DeMello said. I’ve healed up some. I still miss my boys. I’m all about being a water safety advocate. Drowning prevention is very important to me.”

DeMello is very familiar with the data and the statistics.

“I can tell you that two-thirds of the drownings are happening in backyard swimming pools,” he said. They do happen in open water, ponds, canals and swales.” He even heard an instance of a drowning that occurred when someone left the lid off a septic tank, he said.

DeMello’s twin boys, Joshua and Christian.

He and other drowning prevention organizations, local and national, encourage the use of these layers of prevention: a safety fence around pools, alarms on doors and windows, providing swimming lessons to children as soon as they become mobile, adult supervision, use of life jackets and learning CPR. “Of course, adult supervision is so important,” he said. “But, you know, I can tell you that we’re all guilty of taking our eyes off our children.”

There’s such a stigma against the parents of a child who drowns, he said. But every situation is unique. “The people that I worry about the most are the people that think this only happens to bad people somewhere off in far places,” he said. “This happens to good people.”

His foundation partners with the YMCA to provide scholarships for swim lessons. He works with the state Department of Children and Families in Charlotte County to provide safety fences at no charge for people with pools who qualify.

KATCHMARCHI

They also partner with Lifesaver Pool Fence, a national program to provide safety fencing for families that have been affected by fatal and non-fatal drownings. “There’s no financial requirement or anything like that. We only want to lift that burden off the families once they’ve been through something like that.”

The CDC study mentions that drowning rates may be increasing due to disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Aquatic centers and community pools closed, so there was no place to take swimming lessons.

DeMello believes the state’s exploding population is another reason – “the influx of people that have moved here to Florida from other areas that don’t have a clue about the dangers of water.”

There is also a national lifeguard shortage, said Adam Katchmarchi, CEO of the National Drowning Prevention Alliance (NDPA), with a mission to elevate awareness, educate, advocate, innovate and equip to prevent drownings.

RAPP

In addition, there are more backyard pools in the country than prior to the pandemic, Katchmarchi said. Since backyard pools are predominantly the biggest risk factor for toddler drownings, that might also be a factor.

The alliance brings profit and non-profit organizations together, as well as partnering with government agencies, advocates and families affected by drowning to unify their different messages about drowning instead of operating in separate silos, Katchmarchi said.

He said different industries and sectors touch water safety and drowning prevention, including health care and physicians, hospitals, first responders, public health officials, aquatics facilities, public policy makers, etc.

“And drowning is a little bit of a complex problem because it happens in different ways to different people, to different ages. We can look at it from an age perspective, a race and culture, a socioeconomic perspective,” Katchmarchi said. “Everyone is at risk, but your risk and level of risk changes throughout your life, and so do the interventions that would prevent drowning.

STEWART

“That’s also challenging from a prevention standpoint because if we’re not all saying the same thing about drowning, you’re hearing mixed messaging.”

The alliance promotes the five layers of prevention: barriers and alarms, supervision, water competency, such as swimming lessons, life jackets and emergency preparation.

“Drowning is often silent, especially with young children,” Katchmarchi said. “That’s another misconception because of how TV portrays it.” A drowning person is always portrayed as thrashing around and calling out for help, so a parent will think, “If my child’s in trouble in the water, I will hear them. I will notice something is wrong.” When someone is actively drowning, it can happen in 20 to 60 seconds, he said. And it can happen quietly.

Katchmarchi said his network includes more than 100 families that have lost a child to a drowning. “A lot of parents have told me they had no idea drowning was the leading cause of death for their toddler. Their pediatrician never talked about it. It was never mentioned in any parenting literature,” he said.

Around 70% of toddler drownings are happening during non-swim times, he said. People think of a drowning incident only when planning to be at the pool. But one of the parents in his network, Christina Martin of Orlando, lost her son Gunnar during his nap time. “She put her son down for a nap. She came back after nap time. His door was open. He was not in the bed. She came out to the living room, noticed the sliding glass door was open, and he was floating in the pool.”

Parents also rely on flotation devices, but they have to be of the right kind, he said. Items like water wings and children’s inflatables on their arms can slip off. “They are not a drowning prevention tool.”

Lee County recently held a summer safety event at Estero Community Park to introduce a new Automated External Defibrillator (AED) program to assist in dealing with cardiac arrest in near-drowning cases and other situations.

“Today we’re emphasizing the importance of water safety and how being knowledgeable about recognizing cardiac arrest and knowing what to do can help save lives,” said Ben Abes, Lee County public safety director. In the past year, the county had 176 drowning/water related calls and 1,764 events of cardiac arrest overall, as well as 926 events where trained 9-1-1 dispatchers assisted callers with CPR instructions in acute events.

Colin Johnson, deputy chief of Lee County Emergency Medical Services, announced a partnership with AED provider Avive Solutions to help increase citizen and bystander knowledge of CPR and AED use. He said the county has deployed 197 devices across the county, including parks and recreation buildings, stadiums, and other government complexes.

“When it comes down to cardiac arrest survival, the most important things you can do is recognize someone needs help, know where the device is located and have the confidence to do something,” Johnson said. The county also launched a program called Heart Smart a few months ago, partnering with 25 agencies across the community and providing education on CPR and AED use. So far, the program has trained over 5,000 community members in bystander (hands-only) CPR and AED awareness, he said.

Paul Rapp, Lee County parks and recreation aquatic supervisor expanded further on water safety tips, like the use of “water watchers,” which are simply responsible adults whose sole purpose is to keep a close eye on the water. If that person has to take a restroom break or leaves to get a drink or make a phone call, someone else takes his place for the duration. They can even operate in 15-minute shifts, he said.

You also need to know your swimming skills and the swimming skills of people you are with before participating in water activities, Rapp said.

Always wear a life Coast Guard-approved life jacket in a boat paddle craft, on a stand-up paddle board and, if someone needs to be a better swimmer, in any water setting.

And never swim alone.

Anna Stewart, manager of the Palm Beach County Drowning Prevention Coalition, has the unique perspective of having survived a near-drowning experience. She said it happened in a neighbor’s pool when she was eight years old. She was “chicken fighting” with her friends, in which teams of two, one person sitting on another’s shoulders, splashed each other. Stewart was on the bottom of one of the teams and walked into the deep end with her friend on her shoulders. The next thing she knew, she woke up in the hospital. “My dad thought my mom was watching, and my mom thought my dad was watching,” she said. “People don’t expect it to happen to them,” she said. “I tell families to expect the unexpected.”

The coalition provides education programs and vouchers to eligible families with children ages 2-12 for six to eight free/reduced-cost swimming lessons at participating pools. Their website provides a downloadable “Be Water Smart” booklet and a questionnaire on determining whether your child is at risk.

“The thing is, drowning is 100% preventable,” Katchmarchi said. “We do not need to see the statistics that we see today. This does not need to be the reality that most families face.” People need to be aware of the five layers of protection and be aware of the ways in which drownings happen, he said. “That way, they can make informed safety decisions for their family.”

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