MIAMI, FL—Boynton Beach Police officials are investigating the near drowning of a 1 ½-year-old boy, which occurred in a residential swimming pool on the morning of June 21, 2011. According to information provided by the Palm Beach Post, police told reporters that the toddler was transferred from Bethesda Memorial Hospital to St. Mary’s Hospital in West Palm Beach to receive additional medical attention following the swimming pool accident.
This particular accident marked the second time in less than a week that the near drowning of a child was reported to Boynton Beach officials. On June 16, a 3-year-old boy fell into a pool and was knocked unconscious. Luckily, that near drowning victim was accompanied by his older sisters at the time and was able to get immediate help. That child was ultimately taken to the hospital, where medical personnel listed him in stable condition.
In the most recent swimming pool accident, the unidentified victim’s mother told reporters she was watching television with the 1 ½-year-old, as well as her 3-year-old child, when the toddler somehow snuck away. The toddler then made it beyond the confines of a baby gate that was installed in the kitchen before exiting the Boynton Beach home, which was situated along Fosters Mill Drive, through a sliding glass door that was open at the time. The toddler subsequently fell into the swimming pool, which did not have a childproof fence set up around it.
According to Stephanie Slater of the Boynton Beach Police Department (BBPD), a neighbor who called 911 upon hearing the child’s mother screaming was instructed to perform CPR pending the arrival of emergency medical services (EMS) crews. WPTV news reports stated that the child was listed in critical but stable condition following the near drowning incident.
State Department of Health (DOH) statistics suggest that drowning is the main cause of death among children between the ages of 1 and 4. Furthermore, Florida has the highest drowning death rate in the nation for kids in that age group, who accounted for 13 percent of the number of statewide drowning deaths—485—as well as 43 percent of the hospitalizations related to near drowning incidents—388—during the year 2009.
The Miami injury law firm of Gerson & Schwartz, P.A. provided the following tips to help Florida residents prevent potential drowning injuries and deaths in the coming summer months:
• Teach children to swim
• Share important pool safety guidelines before kids get in the water
• Never leave a child unattended. If a kid does wander off at some point, make sure to check the pool area before anywhere else
• Invest in childproof pool fences. The added barrier between swimming pools and young children can be lifesaving.
• Make sure to have an emergency phone in the immediate area
• Cover and lock hot tubs when they are not in use
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