YMCA works to prevent high rate of Oklahoma child drownings
Teaching children to be safe around water isn’t a job for Rachel Ochler, aquatics director at the Richard Kane YMCA. It’s personal.
“My kiddos have a friend who was killed in a drowning accident,” Ochler said.
And last year, the three-year-old child of someone from her church with also drowned.
“It’s heart-breaking,” she said.
Today, Ochler has the privilege of leading the YMCA’s Safety Around Water program, which brings area second graders to the YMCA every spring to teach them basic swimming and safety skills for a week. Last year, Ochler and the YMCA team taught 400 children to swim who had not previously known how to swim through the SAW program.
Lessons reduce drownings
YMCA chapters throughout the country have similar programs, but the SAW is especially important in Oklahoma. Oklahoma is one of three states with the highest rate of child drownings, according to online insurance company QuoteWizard. Most drownings occur in lakes, followed by rivers and creeks, the Oklahoman reported. However, the Oklahoma Swim Academy said that “formal swim lessons reduce the probability of drowning by 88%.”
Nearly every week between January and May, eager second graders disembark from school busses at 12 p.m. and file into the YMCA locker rooms. After donning swimsuits, (the YMCA provides suits for those who don’t have suits or who forget), between 40 to 60 children gather at the pool’s edge for lessons.
Every Monday, the staff assess each child’s swimming ability and divide them into groups. Tuesday through Thursday they work on swimming skills, and on Friday, staff and volunteers teach the students basic CPR, first aid, how to respond in a water emergency and boat safety. “It’s pretty cute to see them being pulled across the pool in a big inflatable boat with their life jackets on,” Stephanie Huck, the YMCA marketing coordinator, said.
Ochler and the staff rely on parent volunteers to help things run smoothly. Wilson Elementary School parent Samantha Dum volunteered when each of her three children went through SAW. “I love this program,” Dum said. “Not only does it teach our children life-saving skills, but it also builds character.”
“It’s so amazing to watch these young children go from visibly nervous and timid to confident and self-assured,” she said.
Kruze Meade, who attends Ranch Heights Elementary school, came home every day after his YMCA lessons and explained what he had learned to his father. “I attended the final day and was impressed how well the Y staff handled the kids,” Cody Meade said.
A community effort
The YMCA and the Bartlesville Regional United Way jointly cover the costs for the swimming program – including transportation to and from schools, pool maintenance and lifeguards – but it is a community effort. United Linen provides clean towels. Catholic Charities Mary Martha Outreach provides snacks for hungry swimmers. And this year, SLB, or Schlumberger, provided string backpacks for every participant.
SAW is open to every second grader in the community. All Bartlesville Public Schools elementary schools participate, along with Wesleyan Christian School, St. John Catholic School and Osage Hills Public School. Homeschoolers are also welcome.
Ochler said it is extremely rewarding for her to be a part of teaching these important skills to community second graders. “If I can come in here and save one life of a child from drowning, it’s worth every penny and it’s worth every minute I put into it,” she said.
This article originally appeared on Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise: YMCA works to prevent high rate of Oklahoma child drownings
