Do You Know How To Prevent Pool Accidents?

Jeff Albring, supervisor, IT, ProMedica, and his wife, Jill, have an important message to share with everyone about preventing pool accidents. Five years ago, their son Nathaniel—then a toddler—nearly drowned in the backyard pool at their rural Delta, Ohio, home.

Nathaniel escaped Jill’s sight as she cared for their newborn, Koby. Jill and their two older sons, Matthew and Logan, began looking everywhere for Nathaniel—first in the house and finally in the pool. Although the above-ground pool had a gate, Nathaniel figured out how to open it and was apparently reaching for a ball on top of the cover when he fell in.

Although Nathaniel miraculously survived, he was severely impaired by the near drowning. Now 7, he is unable to walk or communicate. Nathaniel receives rehabilitative therapy, and in-home nurses help to ensure his basic needs are met. Jeff and Jill belong to a support group called Parents of Near Drowns (http://hugs4ndc.com/ponds.html) that connects them to families who share similar experiences, and announces news about research and developments that could some day help Nathaniel.

Things have changed for the Albring Family since Nathaniel’s near drowning, but they try to continue on with as normal a life as possible. Matthew, 12; Logan, 10; and Koby, 5, pitch in to help their brother, and Jill is still able to take them back and forth to baseball games and swim lessons while Nathaniel is cared for during in-home nurse visits.

The Albring Family also kept their pool. They drained it immediately after the accident and thought about closing it for good, but they didn’t want the other boys—who enjoy the pool each summer—to resent Nathaniel. So, instead they followed the Consumer Products Safety Commission’s recommendations to install layers of protection around the pool, including motion sensors, lock and key, and alarms. They also moved the filter underneath the deck, so kids cannot use it to climb into the pool.

Jeff and Jill want other families to be aware that an accident such as this can happen—even if you only lose track of a child for 30 seconds—and take steps to prevent it from happening to them. Erin Whitton, manager, injury prevention/community outreach, Toledo Children’s Hospital, shares these tips from SafeKids Greater Toledo for preventing childhood drowning:

Always actively supervise children in and around water. Don’t leave, even for a moment.

   • Stay where you can see, hear and reach kids in water. Avoid talking on the phone, preparing a
     meal, reading, and other distractions.

   • Children should swim only in designated and supervised swimming areas.

   • Teach children never to swim alone.

Use barriers to keep kids away from water when you’re not around.

   • Four-sided isolation fencing, at least 5 feet high and equipped with self-closing and self-latching
     gates, should be installed around all pools (including inflatable pools) and spas. Fencing
     should completely enclose the pool or spa, and prevent direct access from a house or yard.

   • Install barriers of protection around your home pool or spa in addition to the fencing, such as
     pool alarms, pool covers, door alarms, or locks.

   • Never prop open the gate to a pool barrier. Don’t leave toys that could attract children in or
     around a pool.

   • Empty buckets, wading pools and other containers immediately after use, and store upside
     down and out of reach.

   • Keep toilet lids down and locked, and doors to bathrooms and utility rooms closed when not in
     use.

Pool drains are an often-overlooked drowning hazard.

   • Teach children never to go near a pool drain, with or without a cover, and to pin up long hair
     when in water.

   • Install multiple drains in all pools, spas, whirlpools, and hot tubs. This minimizes the suction of
     any one drain, reducing risk of death or injury.

Download this Splash into Safety checklist to help keep the kids in your family safe in and around water. Visit www.safekids.org for more information.