{"id":14528,"date":"2025-07-24T16:49:04","date_gmt":"2025-07-24T20:49:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/?page_id=14528"},"modified":"2025-07-24T16:52:05","modified_gmt":"2025-07-24T20:52:05","slug":"three-rivers-health-district-encourages-safe-swimming-practices","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/public-relations-contacts\/archived-news-releases\/2025-news-releases\/three-rivers-health-district-encourages-safe-swimming-practices\/","title":{"rendered":"Three Rivers Health District Encourages Safe Swimming Practices"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>July 24, 2025<br \/>\n<strong>Media Contact: <\/strong>Brenden Rivenbark, <a href=\"mailto:Brenden.rivenbark@vdh.virginia.gov\">Brenden.rivenbark@vdh.virginia.gov<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Three Rivers Health District Encourages Safe Swimming Practices<br \/>\n<\/strong><em>Public Advised to Practice Safe Swimming in Pools and Natural Bodies of Water<\/em><\/p>\n<p>SALUDA, Va. \u2013 The Three Rivers Health District is advising the public to remain vigilant when enjoying the summer months cooling off in pools or natural bodies of water and is urging parents and caregivers to take the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.poolsafely.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/Adult-Pledge-Card.pdf\">Pool Safely Pledge<\/a> (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.poolsafely.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/352A-spanish.pdf\">en Espa\u00f1ol<\/a>) as the Commonwealth continues to see a concerning rise in accidental drownings among children under the age of five in swimming pools. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.poolsafely.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/352A-spanish.pdf\">Pool Safely<\/a> is a national public education campaign led by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission to help prevent child drownings and entrapments in pools and spas.<\/p>\n<p>The pledge &#8211; available for both adults and children \u2013 takes less than a minute and reinforces simple, life- saving safety practices.<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.poolsafely.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/Adult-Pledge-Card.pdf\">adult pledge<\/a> includes commitment to:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Designate a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.safekids.org\/other-resource\/water-watcher-card\">water watcher<\/a> every single time children in their care are in or near the water.<\/li>\n<li>Make sure their kids know how to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.redcross.org\/take-a-class\/swimming\">swim.<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Learn <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/environmental-health\/environmental-health-services\/swim-healthy\/learn-lifesaving-skills\/\">CPR.<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Always remove portable pool ladders when not in use.<\/li>\n<li>Ensure all permanent pools have a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/environmental-health\/environmental-health-services\/swim-healthy\/pool-safety-features\/\">proper<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/environmental-health\/environmental-health-services\/swim-healthy\/pool-safety-features\/\">fence and gate and anti-entrapment drain<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/environmental-health\/environmental-health-services\/swim-healthy\/pool-safety-features\/\">covers.<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.poolsafely.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/Kids-Pledge-Card.pdf\">children\u2019s pledge<\/a> includes reminders to:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Never swim alone.<\/li>\n<li>As their parents to sign them up for swimming lessons.<\/li>\n<li>Stay away from drains in the pool or hot tub.<\/li>\n<li>Have fun and always follow these safety steps in and around the water.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Additionally, it is important to practice safe swimming habits in natural bodies of water. Harmful bacteria thrive in waters that are warm and can be more infectious during the summer months. In addition to the above recommendations, the Three Rivers Health District advises that the public doesn\u2019t swim in salt or brackish water if you have an open wound and that water shoes can help protect you from sharp rocks, barnacles, crabs, and other hazards while in and around the water. Learn more healthy swimming tips with Swim Healthy VA<\/p>\n<p>Visit <a href=\"http:\/\/www.swimhealthyva.com\/\">www.SwimHealthyVa.com<\/a> for ways to stay safe while recreating in natural waterbodies.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"># # #<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>July 24, 2025 Media Contact: Brenden Rivenbark, Brenden.rivenbark@vdh.virginia.gov Three Rivers Health District Encourages Safe Swimming Practices Public Advised to Practice Safe Swimming in Pools and Natural Bodies of Water SALUDA, Va. \u2013 The Three Rivers Health District is advising the public to remain vigilant when enjoying the summer months cooling off in pools or natural [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":676,"featured_media":0,"parent":12290,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"tags":[1113,1111,593,1112,1060],"class_list":["post-14528","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","tag-natural-bodies-of-water","tag-pool-safely-pledge","tag-safe-swimming","tag-swimming-pools","tag-three-rivers-health-district"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.1 - 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