Local Drowning Highlights Need for Prevention Strategies

The drowning of a Richfield Township girl a few week ago is a sad reminder about the importance of implementing strategies to prevent these tragedies from occurring.  (7/15) Flint Journal In the Richfield case, the toddler awakened from a nap and climbed into the family’s pool after going outside unnoticed. According to a recent report from the American Academy of Pediatrics, drowning is a leading cause of unintentional injury-related deaths in the U.S. among children  between the ages of 1 and 19. The report states that for drowning and injury prevention there must be “layers of protection” in place as no single strategy would likely prevent all drownings or water-related injuries. Layers of protection could include adult supervision, pool covers, water-entry alarms and swimming and survival skill training. Four-sided pool fencing around all pools, including large above-ground inflatable or portable pools, isolating the pool from the house and yard have been shown to decrease pool immersion deaths and injuries by over 50%. Using these strategies may have prevented the Richfield drowning.