The YMCA of South Florida and Nicklaus Children’s Hospital have announced a partnership aimed at addressing one of the region’s most pressing child safety concerns. The collaboration, which focuses on the high incidence of child drownings and near drownings in South Florida, will promote greater community awareness of water safety and drowning prevention measures.
“It’s a very sad truth that Miami-Dade and Broward counties have among the highest occurrences of child drownings in the nation,” said Matthew A. Love, President and CEO of Nicklaus Children’s Health System. “Through our important work with the YMCA of South Florida, we hope to create greater awareness of the risks and ensure area families are equipped with the knowledge and skills to protect children in and near the water.”
“We are pleased to work with Nicklaus Children’s Hospital to promote water safety and drowning prevention in our South Florida community,” said Sheryl A. Woods, President and CEO, YMCA of South Florida. “Our organizations will work together through events and other forums throughout the year to keep our children safe in and around water. We want every adult to know the importance of the ‘Three Layers of Drowning Prevention:’ There should always be adult supervision while children are in or near the water; put alarms and protective barriers around pools and water sources; and most importantly make sure children know how to swim. If the first two layers of drowning prevention fail, children need to know how to get themselves to safety, or remain safe until help can arrive.”
Leaders from Nicklaus Children’s and the YMCA of South Florida gathered at the Weston YMCA Family Center on September 2 to celebrate the partnership launch as part of Swim for Jenny Week, August 30-September 3. This annual event, sponsored by the YMCA, offers free swim lessons for children and adults from age 6 months to adulthood at locations throughout South Florida. In attendance at the event were:
- Peggy Brown, Mayor, City of Weston
- Sheryl A. Woods, President and CEO, YMCA of South Florida
- Pete Pecci, Weston YMCA Advisory Board Chair
- Kellie Hensley, Regional Director, Events and Partnerships, Cleveland Clinic Florida
- Jennifer McCafferty, PhD, Vice President of Strategy and External Affairs, Chief of Staff, Nicklaus Children’s Health System
Nicklaus Children’s has a long tradition of serving as a regional child safety advocate and is proud of its longstanding role as lead organization for Miami-Dade County Safe Kids, a coalition of public, private and voluntary organizations committed to reducing accidental deaths and injuries among children. Safety content on wide-ranging topics, including water safety, can be found at NicklausChildrens.org/SafeKids
For information on swim lessons and water safety education available through the YMCA of South Florida, please visit ymcasouthflorida.org/aquatics/