In support of a water safety action plan
Drowning rates in Oregon are higher than in neighboring states California and Washington, and higher than the national average. Oregon needs a water safety action plan. Earlier this week, the US National Water Safety Action Plan published an interactive dashboard illustrating where each state is in its planning around water safety. Along those lines, SB700 (2025), a bill requiring children age 16 and under to wear lifejackets in Oregon is anchored in committee, just two years after a similar bill SB3006 (2023) was introduced with strong support from OHSU and medical practitioners.
Dr. Benjamin Hoffman’s testimony in support of SB3006 is highly compelling. I'll include parts of it here and a link to his full testimony.
Between 2006, and 2020, according to the Oregon Bureau of Vital Statistics and the US Centers for Disease Control, 192 Oregon children and adolescents drowned in our state. That makes drowning the 2nd leading cause of death for children 0-4 years, and the 4th single leading cause of death for those 5-18 years. Sadly, the tragic impact of drowning in our state remains vastly under-recognized, and it is worse here than anywhere else on the West Coast. Overall, Oregon children drown at a 26% higher rate compared to the US overall rate, 72% greater than children in California, and 42% greater than Washington. Among older children aged 5-18 years, Oregon kids drown at a 68% higher rate than the national rate, 42% greater than the same aged youth in Washington, and almost 3 times more often than kids in California.
Sadly, as we see nationally, the burden of drowning mortality disproportionately impacts communities of color. In Oregon, Hispanic, Black, Asian and American Indian/Alaska Native children drown twice as often as non-Hispanic whites. While we are focusing on drowning deaths, we know that for each fatal drowning, children suffer a critical water submersion event, leaving many with lifelong disabilities and other impacts.
https://olis.oregonlegislature.gov/liz/2023R1/Downloads/PublicTestimonyDocument/43170
