• In 1996, nearly 1,000 children ages 14 and under drowned. Children ages 4 and under accounted for nearly half of these deaths.
• Each year, an estimated 5,000 children ages 14 and under are hospitalized due to near-drowning.
• Near-drownings have high case fatality rates. Fifteen percent of children admitted for near-drowning die in the hospital. As many as 20 percent of near-drowning survivors suffer severe, permanent neurological disability.
• For every child who drowns, an additional four are hospitalized for near-drowning; and for every hospital admission, approximately four children are treated in hospital emergency rooms.
• A swimming pool is 14 times more likely than a motor vehicle to be involved in the death of a child age 4 and under.

1. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) reported there were 17,505 aquatic sports-related head injuries treated at U.S. hospital emergency rooms in 2005.

2. Medical costs for a near-drowning victim can range from $75,000 for initial emergency room treatment to $180,000 a year for long-term care. The cost of a near-drowning that results in brain damage can be more than $4.5 million.

3. The total annual cost of drowning and near-drowning among children ages 14 and under is approximately $6.2 billion. Children ages 4 and under account for $3.8 billion, or 61 percent, of these costs.