DROWNING PREVENTION
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Roxie drowned because adult lifeguards neglected her in a summer camp pool.
We wish preventable drowning events like this rarely happened. But in fact they happen far more frequently than you think, especially to our most precious and vulnerable cargo — children.
First and foremost, we must call these catastrophic events what they are… “preventable drownings,” not accidents, not incidents. Kids do not drown themselves. Adults are accountable. Adults must own their roles, learn thereafter and help others to change their behavior.
Secondarily, Meow Meow Foundation has been reviewing data and conducting its own comprehensive review of childhood drownings. It is unacceptable that drowning is the second leading cause of death among children 0-4 and the second leading cause of unintentional injury-related death among children up 0-14.
Meow Meow Foundation is taking a different approach.
We must work beyond the grief and beyond the often distracting stories from adults who repeatedly claim that they simply ”looked away from their drowned child for what seemed like only seconds.” In other words, adults must own it if we want to eliminate it.
We must not trust that our swim lessons and our pool gates and our life jackets alone are enough. This is why we are building a first in class and best-in-class end-to-end water safety solution which includes the following initiatives. YOUR DONATIONS WILL HELP US ACHIEVE THE FOLLOWING OBJECTIVES TO ELIMINATE THIS PREVENTABLE OUTCOME.
ROXIE RULES DATA
A dearth of data on drowning conditions has stifled efficacy. Therefore, Meow Meow Foundation will:
Establish epidemiological criteria critical to informing program needs.
Contract with a data specialist and work with county and state agencies to build a first-in-class database based on such criteria.
ROXIE RULES PARTNERSHIPS
MMF will develop a strategic ecosystem which includes:
Traveling statewide/nationwide/internationally to exchange ideas, experiences and resources with water safety experts.
Analyzing current drowning prevention program strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats (SWOT analyses).
Spearheading a 58-county coalition of drowning prevention task forces, replete with prevention advocates, legislators, health and safety officials, educators, corporate leaders, community influencers and private citizens to influence political will and rally resources.
Culling data, research and mindshare into a publicly available instructional compendium.
ROXIE RULES LEGISLATION
MMF will continue to introduce or enhance drowning prevention legislation including:
Regulation/licensing of camps—the ROXIE RULES ACT.
Mandatory life jacket programs.
Health and safety department inspections of public pool operations.
Enhanced lifeguard and lifeguard training requirements.
Open water monitoring improvements.
Improved municipal ordinances or state requirements related to pool and spa owners.
ROXIE RULES CAMPAIGNS
MMF will pilot a drowning prevention program in the greater Los Angeles region and thereafter roll out statewide:
ROXIE RULES POOLS—Distribute educational material to pool contractors and pool supply and service people who, by law, are required to follow certain safety guidelines, such as proper non-entrapment drains. Also provide them with customizable promotional and educational material (on which they can add their own logo and contact info) to distribute to pool owner clients or client prospects, all of which illustrates an investment in client and child safety.
ROXIE RULES SCHOOLS—Institute drowning prevention curriculum through public and private schools.
Train-the-trainers programming for all who implement ROXIE RULES curriculum.
Web-based and classroom-based ROXIE RULES adult education/training.
Expand private and public funding to broaden the Rose Bowl Aquatics Center public school “Learn to Swim” program to include 5-10-year-olds, not just third graders and especially focus on minorities and socioeconomically disadvantaged.
ROXIE RULES CLUB—Target private and public sector pool owners/managers in order to distribute educational material with an invitation to join the club from which they can order water watcher badges, pool rules posters, discounted swim lessons and life jackets and also receive invitations to a host of fun, informative events.
ROXIE RULES PREVENTION—Implement a “Don’t Let Us D(r)own” campaign via hospitals, beginning with the renowned Huntington Hospital and Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (Roxie was cared for by both after her drowning).
Parents of newborns leave hospitals with a ROXIE RULES PREVENTION packet sponsored by the American Pediatrics Association.
If new parents are required to have a car seat before they are discharged, more robust CPR training should be part of the PREVENTION campaign, not merely a cursory lesson.
Execute the “Don’t Let Us D(r)own” awareness campaign more broadly as part of California’s “Water Safety Awareness Month” in May.
Support research of treatment and recovery options for children who survive significant drowning incidents with debilitating effects that require extremely expensive care.
Contract with a corporate sponsor to fund branded ROXIE RULES lifejacket stations at hospitals, public pools, camps and other recreational water locations.
ROXIE RULES INNOVATION—partner with two iconic institutions—CalTech and ArtCenter College of Design—to develop innovative drowning prevention products, packaging and promotion which will be marketed worldwide.
A “Preferred Providers” list will include highly vetted makers or distributors of water safety devices, including fencing, alarms, life jackets, et al.
Expand swim lesson access programs for socioeconomically disadvantaged children.
Parents and guardians and camp staff and aquatics personnel and government officials and health and safety gatekeepers must do better by our children. If we don’t ask the right questions, if we don’t demand the right answers and the right actions from ourselves, we all fail. This foundation believes that failure is absolutely not an option.