Life Jacket Donation Drive Held in St. George, Utah by Intermountain Health, State and Local Agencies

A life jacket donation drive recently began in Southern Utah by Intermountain Health St. George Regional Hospital, the Southwest Utah Public Health Department, the Washington Area Chamber of Commerce, Utah Department of Natural Resources Division of State Parks, Utah Drowning Prevention Coalition, and the Utah Injury Prevention Coalition to increase water safety for residents and visitors.

The public is being asked to donate new, or slightly used, life vests that will go in loaner stations at several local state parks. The life jackets are available on a first-come, first-served basis at many lakes, recreation centers, and reservoirs.

The drop off sites include Gunlock State Park, Quail Creek State Park, Sand Hollow State Park, Southwest Utah Public Health Department, and at the Washington Area Chamber of Commerce.

Drowning is the second leading cause of preventable injury death for children under age 14. Children who live in Southwest Utah are two times more likely to drown than children who live in other parts of the state. Wearing a life jacket in open water will make people more visible to others, decrease your chances of drowning, and help you float with little effort if you get tired in the water.

According to the Utah Department of Health & Human Services:

• 70% of drowning deaths occur between May and August.
• 34% of drownings take place in lakes, rivers, canals, and other bodies of water.
• 28% happen in pools.
• 20% occur in bathtubs.

Intermountain Children’s Health offers the following water safety tips:

• Wear a Coast Guard approved life jacket at lakes and reservoirs, even if you can swim. Cold lake water can bring on dangerous cramps, shock, hypothermia, and difficulty breathing. Intermountain Children’s Health has donated over 1,000 Coast Guard-approved life jackets to Life Jacket Loaner Stations across the state.
• Appoint a “water watcher.” Ensure someone is always supervising children without distraction. Take 15-minute shifts and use a lanyard or hat to identify the watcher.
• Never leave a child unattended in a bathtub, even for a second.
• Drain kiddie pools and buckets and turn them upside down when not in use.
• Teach the whole family to swim.
• Use Coast Guard-approved life jackets instead of water wings.
• Enclose pools and hot tubs with self-closing and locking gates.
• Teach children to stay away from water while hiking or camping.
• Check nearby water first if a child is missing.
• Call 911 if a child falls into rushing water; do not jump in after them.
• Learn CPR.

For more safety tips, go to Intermountainhealth.org/childsafety.

NOTE TO MEDIA: Images and video available upon request.

About Intermountain Health

Headquartered in Utah with locations in six states and additional operations across the western U.S., Intermountain Health is a nonprofit system of 33 hospitals, over 400 clinics, medical groups with some 4,600 employed physicians and advanced care providers, a health plans division called Select Health with more than one million members, and other health services. Helping people live the healthiest lives possible, Intermountain is committed to improving community health and is widely recognized as a leader in transforming healthcare by using evidence-based best practices to consistently deliver high-quality outcomes at sustainable costs. For up-to-date information and announcements, please see the Intermountain Health newsroom at https://news.intermountainhealth.org/.