Monty wants you to be a ‘Child Water Watcher’

Dr. Monty Downs is all about saving lives.

Not just as a doctor, but as president of the Kauai Lifeguard Association, too.

We don’t know how many people he’s been responsible for keeping alive and well on this Earth, but we do know no one tries harder than Dr. Downs to keep everyone safe in and around the water.

Whether it’s helping with fundraisers, posting warning signs, sharing his message with the media or encouraging people to swim in lifeguarded areas, Downs rarely rests from his efforts.

And he’s back again, promoting another water safety program.

This time, he’s leading the charge to recruit “Designated Child Water Watchers.”

Now, you ask, what does that mean and what would you do?

It’s simple, but effective.

It means, first, that a person agrees to wear a placard identifying themselves as a Designated Child Water Watcher. That’s the easy part. The second part is not be taken lightly. It calls for — demands, really — that you agree to be disciplined and take on great responsibilities as you watch keiki around water. Duties include:

• I will keep them in sight at all times.

• I will not be distracted by phone or conversation.

• I will not leave the area without finding an adult to replace me.

• I will not drink alcohol or use drugs.

Cathy Zadel of The Cliffs at Princeville is up to the challenge. She recently accepted some placards with lanyards from Downs.

“Although we’ve been blessed to not have any adverse incidents take place in our pool, we also realize that there are frequently adults within 50 feet of a child when a childhood drowning takes place,” she said. “The problem was that no one person had been designated as the child watcher”

Zabel added, “We are very pleased to be able to join in this joint health department and Kauai lifeguard initiative to prevent childhood drownings, which rank amongst the most shattering events that can happen to a family.”

A little background is in order.

Dr. Janet Berreman, Kauai’s Department of Health director, KLA and a small group of professionals have been meeting in order to develop and implement strategies for preventing childhood drowning.

Downs said although this isn’t a true epidemic — three on Kauai in the last 10 years, all were under 5 years old, and 51 statewide, “even one is so devastating that it merits our best preventive attention.”

Child drownings often happen with adults in the immediate vicinity. But with no one adult considering him or herself to be the person in charge of keeping an eye, Downs said, tragic mistakes can be made.

Knowing that, they came up with a program to develop and distribute “Designated Child Water Watcher” laminated placards, to be placed with a lanyard around the designated watcher’s neck.

About 1,000 are being made initially.

Devindra Sharma of the DOH and graphic artists at Inkspot Printing provided key assistance in creating the message and images, Downs said.

So, who would get these placards?

They might be given to resort pool attendants to be handed out along with the day’s towel to families with small children. Other ideas include getting them to pool maintenance professionals to give to homeowners. Or maybe for concierges to give to families checking in with keiki. They could be distributed to vacation rental businesses to hand out as part of a safety package when their rental property has a pool.

The more of these you can place in the hands of committed adults, the better. It is a serious commitment. The lives of children could depend on to you.

The placard and lanyards cost about $1.40, but are priceless.

“If we end up realizing that many thousands should be made in order to achieve our prevention goal, then we’ll need to look into how to fund such a project for the long run,” Downs wrote. “For now, we are excited to get this up and running.”

If you would like some of these placards,” call Monty Downs, 822-3695