Monday, July 17, 2017 05:32PM
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Water safety is top of mind for many parents after several recent drownings in our area.
One of the victims was a North Philadelphia first grader, who died during a vacation at the Jersey Shore.
A vigil will be held on Monday night for 6-year-old Isabella Grattic. She drowned nine days ago at a pool in Wildwood.
"She was everything you want a student to be. She was kind, friendly, always had a smile and was here every day," said Principal Letisha Laws.
Sadly, Isabella is one of three children who drowned in separate incidents in New Jersey over the past two weeks.
Police also say a three-year-old is in critical condition after falling into the Schuylkill River on Saturday.
Emergency room doctor Megan Stobart-Gallagher says during the summer at Einstein Medical Center they're on high alert for drownings.
"It's always a possibility here so, when an alert goes off, we're worried that's something it could be," she said.
But she says it is preventable. A locked fence should be around all pools, and little ones need to be watched while swimming.
"Even kids fully trained in swimming lessons need to be observed. It only takes two seconds for them to bob under water and not come back up," Stobart-Gallagher said.
As for whether infant rescue programs help, she says they could be good training but are not recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics.
"It's not a guarantee to prevent anything from happening," Stobart-Gallagher said.
Back at Mastery, Principal Laws hopes to raise awareness about swimming and water safety - and also honor Isabella.
"Let her family know we love them, here for them, support them," she said.
For more information about water safety, visit CHOP.edu
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Four-year-old girl drowns in New Jersey lake while swimming with a group of friends
Kaylin Pahulick, four, was swimming at Lake & Shore RV Resort, Ocean View, NJ
Troopers received reports of a child drowning at the campground at around 1pm.
Man who was staying at campground said rescuers tried to revive her with CPR
She was pronounced dead at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia at around 2am
A four-year-old girl drowned while swimming with her friends in a New Jersey lake, it has been reported.
Kaylin Pahulick, of Levittown, Pennsylvania, was playing in the unguarded lake at the Lake & Shore RV Resort in Ocean View when tragedy struck.
State trooper Alejandro Goez said officers received reports of a child drowning at the campground at around 1pm on Thursday.
Kaylin Pahulick, four, drowned while swimming with her friends in a New Jersey lake
Kaylin was playing in the unguarded lake at the Lake & Shore RV Resort in Ocean View, New JerseyShe was rushed to the Cape Regional Medical Center but doctors were unable to regain her pulse.
Kaylin was pronounced dead at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia at around 2am.
Paul Brown, who was staying at the campground in his RV, said rescuers tried to revive the girl using CPR at the scene.
'I'm sick to my stomach,' said Brown, 54, who has four children and a nine-year-old grandson. 'I can't get it out of my head.'
Kaylin was rushed to the Cape Regional Medical Center but doctors were unable to regain her pulse
Holidaymakers are said to frequently swim in the RV park's lake, which is divided into bathing and fishing areas.
Campground management have referred questions to a corporate office.
The resort is owned by Chicago-based Equity Lifestyle Properties Inc. Representatives from the company did not immediately return a request for comment
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Drowning is the leading cause of injury-related death among children between 1 and 4 years old. Drowning often occurs silently when an unsupervised child is near water ― and it takes only seconds to drown.
Although most drowning incidents occur in residential swimming pools, children can drown in just 1 inch of water, such as in buckets, bath tubs, wading pools, diaper pails and toilets. In addition, hot tubs, spas and open waters, such as oceans, rivers and lakes, pose a drowning threat to older children.
Consider these facts about drowning:
- When a child is submerged for two minutes in water, he or she loses consciousness.
- Irreversible brain damage occurs after four to six minutes of water submersion.
- Most children die if they are found after 10 minutes in the water.
Tips for preventing drowning
Follow these preventive steps to help protect children from drowning:- Never leave your child unsupervised near water at or in the home, or around any body of water, including a swimming pool
- Learn cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and infant and child first-aid. In case of an emergency, CPR can save lives, reduce the severity of injury and improve the chance of survival
- Do not rely on personal flotation devices (PFDs) or swimming lessons to protect your child
- Install four-sided isolation fencing around swimming pools
- Make sure you have rescue equipment, such as a rescue tubes or ring buoys, and a telephone and emergency phone numbers near the swimming pool
- Do not allow children to dive in waters less than 9 feet deep
- Insist that children wear a U.S. Coast Guard-approved personal flotation device (PFD), such as life jackets, when boating, sailing or canoeing
- Teach your children to stay away from any body of water that has become frozen during the winter. Children can drown by falling through thin ice
A 4-year-old girl from Levittown died on Monday after she was pulled from unguarded waters at Lake & Shore RV Resort in Ocean View, Cape May County several days prior, the Press of Atlantic City reported.
The girl’s death was the second drowning of a small child down the Shore in three short days. A 6-year-old Philadelphia girl died on Saturday after she drowned in the pool at the Nantucket Inn and Suites in Wildwood, police said. The motel has posted signs around the pool that state, “No Lifeguard on Duty” and “Swim at Your Own Risk.”
“As a staff here, we’re pretty sad,” Manager Alex Sarri told the newspaper. “We do want to send our condolences to the family.”
New Jersey used to require motels to have lifeguards posted at their pools during swimming hours, but the Press of A.C. reports that law was changed more than 25 years ago following objections from owners.
The 4-year-old victim, identified by authorities as Kaylin Pahulick, was swimming with friends at a lake on the Dennis Township resort when she drowned last Thursday, New Jersey state police Trooper Alejandro Goez told the newspaper. Pahulick was transported to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia for treatment, but they were ultimately unable to save her.
These two deaths are emblematic of not only the importance of having a lifeguard on duty, but they also serve as a reminder to parents to always keep an eye on your young children. Lifeguards are a simple failsafe, ready to spring into action in the event that a parent looks away for the one second they shouldn’t have. Maybe it’s time for New Jersey to explore the possibility of changing that law back?
What about holding the parents criminally liable for failing to supervise their kids? You cannot always blame the businesses for the lack of proper parenting.