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Prevention of drowning — a leading cause of childhood deaths — could get a boost in federal budget
By:   ['Christine Vestal', 'More From Author', '- July'], Minnesota Reformer
Date: 2021-07-26 00:00:00

Some advocates say this is the year that may start to change.

With greater awareness of deficits in the nation’s public health infrastructure since the pandemic and the Biden administration’s willingness to spend billions to improve the health and welfare of Americans, drowning prevention may finally get the attention and investment it deserves, said Richard Hamburg, executive director of Safe States Alliance.

The CDC, he said, may for the first time receive funding for drowning prevention that can be allocated to state public health agencies to save lives.

A subcommittee of the U.S. House is slated to vote July 15 on a bill that would appropriate $2 million for drowning prevention.

Prioritizing Drowning

Most state and local health departments are chronically underfunded for accident prevention in general and many have no expertise in drowning prevention, Hamburg said.

But a handful of states, including Colorado, Florida, Nebraska, New York, North Carolina and Washington state, have robust drowning prevention programs primarily funded by state revenues, he said.

In Florida, which has the fourth highest drowning death rate in the country, lawmakers considered a bill this year that would have required public schools to give parents information on water safety education courses. But the bill never reached the floor for a vote.

New York lawmakers proposed a bill that would make swimming and water safety education a mandatory part of the state’s K-12 curriculum. The bill never reached the floor for a vote but it is expected to be refiled next year.

A lot of decisionmakers see lifeguarded beaches and pools as a luxury. But access to swimming is a public health benefit that should be available to everyone. – Tony Gomez, manager of King County Injury and Violence Prevention Program

Washington state lawmakers considered a proposal that would require paddle boarders, kayakers and even tubers to pass a water safety class and carry a certificate with them. But the measure was roundly opposed by consumers and the recreation industry and did not pass the legislature.

In Massachusetts, Republican Gov. Charlie Baker responded to a spate of drownings this year by filing legislation that would hike fines to $500 for swimming outside of designated areas in the state’s waterfronts. The bill is still under consideration.

Water safety laws vary widely from state to state, and most states lack the statutes and regulations water safety experts say are needed to effectively prevent drowning. “It’s not rocket science,” Frattaroli said. “This is a field that is chronically under-resourced and under-recognized.”

Part of the problem, she and other safety experts said, is that drowning historically has taken a back seat to other pressing accident prevention issues, such as drug overdose deaths, automobile accidents and gun violence, which has made garnering support for new state water safety laws and investments difficult.

In a March letter to Congress, more than 200 national and local organizations and state agencies, including the American Red Cross, the YMCA and California Highway Patrol, called drownings a “silent crisis” that requires federal leadership and money.

Without funding, most states are unable to adequately enforce the water safety regulations they have, such as required fencing around pools, hiring lifeguards to supervise public pools and beaches, and requiring people to wear life jackets in boats and unsupervised open waters.

Even more difficult for states to accomplish without federal funding is expanding access to swimming lessons and water safety education. According to the Red Cross, more than half of all Americans don’t know how to swim well enough to save themselves in the water.

The nonprofit and government groups, which included Safe States Alliance, asked for $5 million in funding for the CDC to finance better surveillance and research on the specific causes of drowning deaths to better inform prevention measures.

In addition, Hamburg said, if the Biden administration’s proposal to fund public health infrastructure becomes a reality, it would go a long way to helping states develop effective drowning prevention programs.

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