Sunday, July 04, 1999
Pool drownings preventable, experts stress
BY EARNEST WINSTON
The Cincinnati Enquirer
A month into swimming season, there have been two drowning deaths and three near-drownings at pools in Greater Cincinnati. In all of 1998, Children's Hospital Medical Center reported none.
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WATER SAFETY TIPS
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• Never leave a child unsupervised in or around water.
• Never rely on swimming lessons to protect a child.
• Learn CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) and keep rescue equipment, a telephone and emergency numbers poolside.
• Do not use flotation devices as a substitute for supervision.
Source: National Safe Kids Campaign and U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
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Dr. Charles Schubert, an emergency room physician at Children's, says the incidents are preventable and not “fate or bad luck.”
“I think drownings in general are always alarming because they are so preventable,” Dr. Schubert said. “Every time we see a drowning, it's hard for all of us in the emergency room because it's so preventable and so tragic.”
Circumstances differed in this year's cases, but one thing was the same: There were no lifeguards. And under Ohio law, the pools involved aren't required to have lifeguards. The deaths occurred at a family pool in a back yard and at a hotel pool; the near-drownings happened in pools at apartment complexes.
One of the three near-drowning victims, Justin Brown, 11, remained in critical condition Saturday at Children's. He was rescued Tuesday from a pool at a Roselawn apartment complex. The two others — brothers Dontay Hill, 10, and Duane Hill, 12, were released from the hospital this week. The Colerain Township boys were pulled from an outdoor pool in an apartment complex on June 25.
“I think it's just a tragic thing that's happening. The community needs to step back and realize there are significant risks out there with pools,” Dr. Schubert said.
“It may be that it's just been hotter than usual and people have been seeking pools out more often because of the hot weather.”
Though pools at apartment complexes and hotels are not required to have lifeguards, owners must post signs warning that there is no lifeguard and requiring adult supervision.
“You can establish guidelines and rules ... but a lot of times it's going to come down to the individual and (whether) they're acting responsible, as well. I think the bather also has some responsibility there,” said Michael Hoover, chief of the environmental health section at the Indiana State Department of Health.
Ohio law says pools less than 2,000 square feet and used by fewer than 50 people do not need a lifeguard. The number of lifeguards required at larger public pools is based on their size and the number of users. The rules are similar in Kentucky and Indiana.
But should lifeguards be required at pools in hotels and apartment complexes?
“I'm not sure I'd be very comfortable with that,” said Mr. Hoo ver. “Even when lifeguards are present, their diligence to their job is critical because you can still have someone get into trouble and drown. When you go into an unguarded pool, the bather has to assume there is a certain level of assumed risk.”
Cincinnati EMS District Chief Michael Kappa, who was involved in the attempted rescue of a girl who drowned about three years ago, said requiring lifeguards at all pools would not be feasible. There are just too many pools, he said.
Flo-Ann Wilson, a certified lifeguard who works at city-run Krueck Pool in Clifton Heights, said the lack of lifeguards is a problem. But ultimately, she says, “it's the parents' responsibility to supervise” their children.
Dr. Mary Patterson, an emergency room physician at Children's, agreed, saying there is no substitute for supervision.
“The fact that we're seeing this many so early in the season, it behooves us to try and get the word out to parents that children require very close supervision near the water,” said Dr. Patterson, who helped treat the Hill brothers.
“The biggest thing that any parent can do about their child's safety is to be vigilant when they're in water. There is no substitute for close supervision,” she said.
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