BAKERSFIELD — Kern County Public Health hosts a press conference, talks about water safety and provides a CPR demonstration.
- Kern County Public Health offers free CPR training and "Water Watcher lanyards.
- More information can be found on the Kern County Public Health website.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
As the temperatures rise in Kern County, now is the ideal time to focus on water safety. I'm Steve Virgen, your neighborhood reporter. That's why Kern County Public Health hosted a press conference that included a CPR demonstration.
Hotter temperatures in Kern County means youngsters will be tempted to jump into pools to cool off. But in the blink of an eye, a drowning can happen.
“Survival chances decrease by 10% every minute that CPR is not given.”
Emergency Services Manager Jeff Fariss explains the importance of CPR. And he provided a hands-only CPR demonstration. He says it’s easy to learn in under five minutes.
“They’re going to put their hands over the center of the chest. One on top of the other, lifting the fingers of the bottom hand up and start pressing down in a straight down motion at a rate between 100 and 120 beats per minute. … That’s all it takes to be able to save a life,” Fariss said.
Kern County Public Health is offering free hands-only CPR training as well as free “Water Watcher” lanyards with a whistle for adults, so they can call for help when they watch over water nearby. Fariss stressed the importance of someone in a family knowing CPR.
“So we actually saw a 67% decrease in child drownings in Kern County from 2022 to 2023, which is promising. But any child loss to drowning is a tragedy that we want to make sure that we are equipping our community with the proper resources so that we’re trying to prevent that," says Brynn Carrigan, Director, Kern County Public Health.
Carrigan says the 67% decrease is promising.
“We must remain vigilant. The loss of a child is unimaginable. And as parents, caregivers, neighbors and community members we must do everything we can to keep our children safe, especially around water," Carrigan says.
To learn more about water safety, visit our website and click on this story for additional resources. For 23 ABC, I’m Steve Virgen, your neighborhood reporter.
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