Water Safety

June 28, 2005

Swimming is a staple of a child’s summer activities. Many kids will say that their favorite part of summer is their time spent at a local swimming pool or at the lake. Although this memory making activity is popular among children, it is also dangerous. Drowning is still the second leading cause of unintentional injury-related death to children ages 14 and under, taking nearly 1,000 children’s lives each year. A child should never be unsupervised in or near water, even shallow wading pools. Devices (such as bathtub seats or water wings) cannot be relied upon to keep them afloat and alive. Children can drown in as little as one inch of water — and it can happen in no time at all. Drownings and near-drownings tend to occur on the weekend (40 percent) and between the months of May and August (66 percent). This summer, it is important for parents to take the proper precautions when taking their children swimming.

In order to keep children safe around water, SAFE KIDS Washoe County and REMSA (Regional Emergency Medical Services Authority) will continue with their special water safety program called “Water Watcher.” The goal of the program is to increase adult supervision of children ages 14 and younger around bodies of water and provide the designated adult in charge with accessible tools, including quick safety tips to follow when they spot a child in trouble in a pool, lake or other body of water.

The purpose of the Water Watcher program is to provide the adult in charge with useful tools to notify others a child is in trouble. The tools include a whistle to create noise and capture other’s attention, and a card with four quick tips of what to do in case of a water emergency.
REMSA and SAFE KIDS Washoe County encourage parents to help keep children safe by picking up a Water Watcher whistle and a safety card at one of the following locations:

District Health Department WIC front desk -1001 East Ninth Street

Saint Mary's Health and Wellness - 745 West Moana Lane, Suite 100, Reno

Washoe Health Resource Center front desk - Located on the first floor of Washoe Professional Center, 75 Pringle Way, adjacent to Washoe Medical Center, Reno

Northern Nevada Medical Center emergency room - 2375 East Prater Way, Sparks

REMSA front desk - 450 Edison Way, Reno

YMCA of Reno - 1300 Foster Dr., Reno

YMCA of Sparks – 850 Baring Blvd., Sparks

To set up an interview with a REMSA representative, please call Scott Walquist at 775.686.2116.

REMSA is a private, not-for-profit emergency medical services system serving northern Nevada. REMSA’s state-of-the-art 9-1-1 dispatch communications center is fully accredited, as are all emergency medical transport services of the company. REMSA provides quality patient care with no taxpayer support or other subsidies.

450 Edison Way Reno, Nevada 89502 (775)858-5700 Fax (775)858-5720