The state’s drowning prevention coordinator is leading an advisory committee that aims to help step up ocean safety education for visitors.
Drownings are the leading cause of fatal injury among nonresidents in Hawaii, said Bridget Velasco, who heads drowning and spinal cord injury prevention efforts for the state Department of Health’s EMS and Injury Prevention Systems Branch.
Between 1995 and 2014 “nonresidents comprise more than half of the ocean drownings, 54 percent, but represent only 12 percent of the de facto population,” Velasco said. Snorkeling followed by swimming were the top activities linked with visitor drownings.
On Saturday there were two drownings in the isles.
A 21-year-old man from Washington state drowned after getting into trouble in high surf off Spitting Caves near Portlock. And on Kauai a 60-year-old man visiting from Porter Ranch, Calif., got into trouble off Shipwreck Beach in Poipu and was taken to Wilcox Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Also Saturday a 71-year-old charter boat passenger was found unconscious in waters off Lahaina. The Coast Guard received a medevac request at 12:05 p.m. from the charter vessel Lahaina Princess.
The woman had been recovered from the water by the vessel’s crew and was revived via CPR. A 45-foot boat from Coast Guard Station Maui rendezvoused with the charter vessel and took the the woman and her family to Maalaea Harbor on Maui to meet paramedics.
And on Sunday a 30-year-old man from South Korea was recovering after nearly drowning in waters near Black Rock in Kaanapali. Onlookers pulled the unresponsive man from the water and began CPR until staff from the Sheraton Maui arrived with an automatic external defibrillator.
The man was able to breathe on his own following several cycles of CPR and a shock by the defibrillator. Paramedics transported him in serious condition to Maui Memorial Medical Center.
As Hawaii’s visitor reach expands, more people are arriving in the islands with little or no experience with the ocean or waterfalls, Velasco said.
The injury prevention systems branch is responsible for relaying basic safety messages as well as providing resources to help keep everyone safe.
Regarding an advisory committee recently assembled to address statewide issues relating to drowning and spinal cord injuries, Velasco said, “We have defined visitor education and safety message refinement as one of our priorities.”
Among the successful ongoing strategies is a lifeguard rescue tube program on Kauai, which is credited with helping to save more than 100 lives.
Initiated in 2009 and maintained by the Kauai Rotary Club, the program consists of some 240 rescue tube stations installed at beaches. The tube is a personal flotation device used to stabilize a distressed swimmer while a rescue is underway.
Maui County is now looking at implementing the program, said the county’s spokesman, Rod Antone. If a county Department of Corporation Counsel review supports installing rescue tube stations, “We’d like to get them out there,” he said.
Through another program initiated in Kauai County, a short video providing safety tips to visitors and residents is screened at Lihue Airport’s baggage claim area. Following the Kauai program, which got underway two years ago, Maui started featuring an ocean safety video at the Kahului Airport baggage claim area in February.
Other ideas under consideration are display posters at baggage claim areas at airports statewide and working with guidebook representatives to help promote ocean safety.
“One drowning is one too many,” said Velasco.
A physical therapist, Velasco previously worked as a public educator for the Health Department’s Hawaii Child Passenger Safety Program. She has also served as a public educator for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health.
Water safety tips
>> Swim near staffed lifeguard stations. There are 29 lifeguard-staffed beaches on Oahu, 12 on the Big Island, 10 on Kauai and eight on Maui.
>> Ask lifeguards about ocean conditions, use the buddy system and avoid relying only on guidebooks and social media.
>> Avoid hiking in mountain areas with stream flows in rainy weather.
>> Know CPR and first aid.
For more information, visit the state Department of Health’s Drowning Prevention Web page, 1.usa.gov/1OxXZWP.
Source: EMS and Injury Prevention System Branch, Hawaii Department of Health
