Risks prompt call for cooperation, advocacy
Posted on Oct 23, 2013 in All IPCS NewsBy Allison Schaefers
In the last four years, drowning was the leading cause of death among visitors to Hawaii. Over the last decade, visitors to the islands were eight times more likely than residents on a per capita basis to drown in the ocean. These statistics were revealed this week during a two-day Ocean Safety and Drowning Prevention Conference in which Hawaii visitor industry officials and ocean safety experts joined forces for the first time to try to combat the disturbing trend. “Visitors have low risks of injury, with the exception of drowning, near-drowning and spinal cord injury,” said Dan Galanis, who works for the state Department of Health’s EMS and Injury Prevention Systems Branch.