Arizona experienced the tragic deaths of 22 children due to drowning in 2020, according to the Arizona Child Fatality Review Program. Nearly all of them were children ages 1 to 4.
Every one of those drowning deaths was preventable.
To promote water safety, the Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) joins organizations around the country urging adults to help reduce drownings by following these steps:
Supervise: Focused adult supervision is essential when young kids are in water. Even a few seconds of inattention can lead to tragedy. Always swim in a lifeguarded area.
Fence: Make sure there is four-sided isolation fencing around a pool, with a self-closing/self-latching gate.
Teach: Make sure kids are able to swim by age 8, if not sooner.
Prepare: Know what to do in a water emergency – including how to help someone in trouble in the water safely, call for emergency help and do CPR.
Our Bureau of Women’s and Children’s Health has more on these and other ways to prevent drownings, including a list of places offering swim lessons. And please keep in mind that water safety includes more than pools and hot tubs. Be sure to practice water safety in the home, especially in the bathtub, and while boating.
Layers of protection are essential to help prevent drowning. Plan ahead for aquatic activities.
I wish everyone a joyful, safe swimming season.
Sheila Sjolander is assistant director of the Arizona Department of Health Services, leading the Division of Public Health Prevention Services for the past 10 years. She oversees more than 60 public health programs, including injury prevention, maternal and child health, nutrition and physical activity, and chronic disease programs. In her 20 years at ADHS, she has been a leader in integration of prevention programs, strategic planning and the state’s work to reduce opioid overdoses. Sjolander received her Master of Social Work degree from Temple University and previously held strategic planning positions in Oregon and Wisconsin. Sjolander received the Outstanding Achievement in Rural Women’s Health from the Arizona Rural Women’s Health Association in 2016 and the CHW Champion Award from the Arizona Community Health Worker Association in 2017.
