More than 1,000 reached with in-person water safety messages
Campers were taught water safety rules through interactive skits, learning lessons such as swimming with a buddy, staying under the supervision of a trusted adult or lifeguard, and leaving the water during severe weather.
By Casandra Andrews
[email protected]
A water safety initiative by USA Health reached more than 1,150 children and families this summer, including the fitting and distribution of more than 565 life jackets to help prevent drownings.
The pediatric outreach education staff at USA Health Children’s & Women’s Hospital led the project, which was funded by a grant from the Gulf Coast Resource Conservation & Development Council. The program focused on providing life-saving education to communities surrounded by the bays and bayous of the Alabama Gulf Coast.
An estimated 4,000 unintentional drowning deaths and 8,000 non-fatal drownings occur annually in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Drownings can occur in as little as 1 inch of water, which is why close supervision is critical.
As part of the outreach, hospital staff visited three area summer camps: Light of the Village, Camp Peace, and the Fuse Spark summer camp at Florence Howard Elementary School. Campers were taught water safety rules through interactive skits, learning lessons such as walking instead of running near water, swimming with a buddy, staying under the supervision of a trusted adult or lifeguard, and exiting the water during severe weather.
The children also learned about rip currents, the meanings of beach flags, and how to call for help in an emergency. Participants received water safety activity books, water watcher lanyards for their caregivers, and life jackets featuring the hospital’s logo.
"It was a lot of fun getting staff involved in this community initiative," said Courtney Thomson, RNC-NIC, who leads pediatric education outreach. "We spend most of our time helping at the hospital when something bad happens in the water. This initiative allowed us to get involved in the community and teach safety skills in a fun way that got the kids excited about water safety."
In addition to the summer camps, the project featured child safety days in Mobile and Baldwin counties, story times at Mobile County libraries, community baby showers, and a specialized session on water safety for neurodivergent children at the USA Regional Autism Network Disabilities Fair.
