Organizations sought to participate in community-wide coalition to promote water safety and prevent drowning

Meeting scheduled for June 29 at Sarasota Memorial Hospital

Image from the Miracle Swimming for Adults website

To increase awareness about water safety in Sarasota County and to prevent accidents and tragedies, Miracle Swimming for Adults, a Sarasota-based nonprofit, has organized a community meeting on June 29.

Miracle Swimming has proposed an initiative, beginning this summer, which would bring together county, municipal and private groups.

“We are calling together the hospitals, first responders, City and County commissioners, swim schools/agencies,” the Sarasota County School District, lifeguards, parks and recreation departments, Visit Sarasota County, the news media, the District 12 Medical Examiner and representatives from all the YMCAs in the county, a Miracle Swimming for Adults release points out.

The meeting will be held from 1 to 3 p.m. on June 29 at Sarasota Memorial Hospital.

“The impetus for this organization came from the Diversity in Aquatics conference held in Miami in April, the release explains. During that event, representatives of the Naples Drowning Prevention Coalition “described their impressive coordinated county-wide approach to drowning prevention, modeled after that of Broward County and taken to the next level, which has been popular and effective,” the release says. “Our goal is to permanently reduce drownings in Sarasota County to zero. This means outreach to residents as well as visitors,” the release points out.

On June 29, a short presentation will be provided about the Naples Drowning Prevention Coalition, the release continues.

The goal for the meeting is to establish a working group “under the Water Safety/Drowning Prevention moniker,” the release notes, and draft messages that each agency would use as in its own public outreach.

Yet another goal of the session, the release notes, is “to define a chain of events” that would occur after a swimming or boating accident, to optimize the potential for teaching the public about water safety.

Organizations interested in sending representatives to the meeting are asked to send an RSVP to Melon@miracleswimming.org.

Additionally, the release says, “If you or your agency would like to be part of this coalition or part of the messaging, please send — by June 18 — the one or two messages you or your agency would like to contribute to the coalition’s outreach effort to the Sarasota public.” It adds, “For example, Miracle Swimming says, ‘Learn to float in deep water and to prevent panic.’ EMT professionals might say, ‘Learn CPR.’”

The release emphasizes, “No marketing, please. Your messages will be presented at a Water Safety/Drowning Prevention meeting of the public in July in Sarasota.”