Developing a Drowning Prevention Awareness Program that works for you Cynthia Leckey, Environmental Manager Florida Department of Health – Brevard County

Presentation Objectives Objective #1: Attendees will learn ways to fund their program. They will understand the benefits of grant writing and how to find free program assistance for educational materials. Objective #2: Attendees will understand the importance of developing partnerships with stakeholders. Partnerships are vital to achieving your long-term goal. They can provide resources, assist in implementation of action plans and provide connections to other resources. Objective #3: Attendees will learn ways to provide public outreach by use of press releases, attending public events and community meetings.

Why develop a local drowning prevention program?  According to the CPSC nationwide: –Drowning is a leading cause of unintentional injury death worldwide, and the highest rates are among children. –76% of reported fatalities involved children younger than 5 years of age. –78% of the ED treated submersion injuries involved children younger than 5 years of age.  Florida data: –Drowning is the leading cause of death among children ages 1-4 in and is the highest in the nation. –Drowning is the first ranking cause of death for children between 1 and 4 years old and it is the second ranking cause of death for children between 5 and 9 years old. It is the third ranking cause of death for children under 1 year of age. –Florida loses the equivalent of 4 classrooms of Pre-K children every year. –Brevard County ranked in Florida’s top ten for drowning.

Brevard County Overview  Brevard County is located along the Atlantic Ocean, also known as the Space Coast.  There are approximately 544,000 people in Brevard County ranking us as the 9 th largest populated county in Florida.  Annually, Brevard has approximately 2.4 million overnight visitors and 1.2 million day visitors.

Brevard County Water Bodies  Out of 1557 square miles, 34% of the county is water.  We have 72 miles of beaches  Many bathing lakes, canals, the St. Johns River, the Indian River Lagoon, Mosquito Lagoon and the Banana River.  Significant recreational waterways such as Lake Washington, Lake Poinsett, Lake Winder, and Sawgrass Lake.  1,073 public pools  59,119 private pools

Local Action Plan  Distribute public awareness messages by using electronic billboards, radio broadcasts, brochures, static images at movie theaters, and Public Service Announcements  Team with Florida Department of Health’s Office of Injury Prevention and their WaterproofFL® Campaign to provide door alarms to the public  Attend public events to distribute drowning prevention materials  Distribute drowning prevention brochures to local area hospitals and health department clinics to target parents of newborns and young children  Sponsor swimming lessons for low income families with children under the age of 5  Continue to monitor report data of fatal and non-fatal incidents  Develop evaluation tools to review the public’s knowledge on drowning

Developing Partnerships with Stakeholders  Partnerships are vital to achieving your long term goal!  Stakeholders can provide resources, assist in implementation of action plans and provide connections to other resources  Possible Partners to contact:  State Injury and Prevention Department  Local Drowning Prevention non-profit groups  Local Radio Stations  local drowning prevention non-profit groups  Swim instructors  Local hospitals  Health Department  Coast Guard  Government Agencies 

Funding Opportunities State Grants Dr. Neil Lowry Award Working with partners to match funding Reaching out to local businesses to assist with handing out educational materials

Public Service Announcements It is important to routinely send out PSA’s to notify the public regarding:  Possible funding opportunities for swim lessons  Educational Messages  National Drowning Prevention Month

National Drowning Prevention Month For the past 3 years the Brevard County Board of County Commissioners have approved a County Resolution that declared May as Water Safety and Drowning Prevention Month in Brevard County. Coast Guard Officials, Josh the Otter®, Swim Safe Forever Brevard, and DOH - Brevard officials

Local Events to distribute educational materials and give away door alarms  Health Fairs  World’s Largest Swimming Lesson  5K races  Schools/daycares  Swim Lesson locations  Pool supply stores  Public Parks

Dr. Neil Lowry Memorial Award  The Neil Lowry Memorial Award recognizes outstanding contributions of Public Health Officials to advancing safer and healthier use of recreational water. This award is to support educational, technical, and operational activities of individuals and departments.  DOH-Brevard was single, nationwide recipient in  Expanded program to include swim lesson scholarships.

Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act The Virginia Graeme Baker Pool & Spa Safety Act (P&SS Act) takes its name from Virginia Graeme Baker, a young girl who drowned after she was trapped under water by the powerful suction from a hot tub drain.  United States Consumer Product and Safety Commission main drain grate inspections.  Routine teleconferences and report submittals.  Reports detail:  Grate make and model number  Flow rate compatibility  Grate expiration dates  Equalizer line compliance

Digital Billboards Benefits  Messages highlighted layers of protection.  Sign locations chosen based on tourist attractions, beaches, high commuting roadways, and low income neighborhoods.  Population-based public health outreach. Able to reach millions of people.  Messages were displayed once every minute/24 hours a day/7 days a week.

Digital Billboard Examples

Radio Public Service Announcements  Radio ads were each 15 seconds  Stations were chosen based target audience of families within the range of 18 to 44 years old, predominately female, and a mixture of income and educational profiles.  iHeart radio was chosen to reach listeners who streamed music while at the park, beach, pool, etc  Broadcasting on the radio and iHeart enabled us to reach our target audience on a consistent basis and during all hours of the day.  Messages were easily changed to accommodate for the time of year and holidays.

Radio PSA Examples

Digital Banner Ads  Website banners reached approximately 11,500 visitors a month.

Static Movie Image  Digitally projected on a 30 feet wide screen.  Shown on 10 screens prior to each movie for 15 seconds for 2 months.  Outreach to diverse groups of people.

Brochures  10,000 English and 1,000 Spanish brochures.  Newborn baby take home bags.  CHD maternity patients.

Website  Adding a link to your website regarding Drowning Prevention provides web users a location to:  Information regarding how to prevent drownings  Swim Lesson locations  Links to other sites that provide educational materials