Chicago Public Schools’ last day is Thursday. As the final school bells ring, our city’s 26 miles of Lake Michigan shoreline and community pools will serve as the summer living rooms where hundreds of thousands of children make memories.
As a pediatric emergency medicine physician and a medical student who have stood in Chicago’s emergency departments when the temperatures have climbed and school has ended, our minds go to a different place than many. We think about the gut-wrenching emergency medical services alert on a beautiful summer day: “Five-year-old male drowning victim, ETA 10 minutes.”
We think about the parents who will leave the house in the morning, thinking only of sunscreen and good memories. We think about the mothers and fathers rushing into the emergency room, hair and clothes still dripping wet, and their crushing shock and grieving sobs when they learn their child’s drowning injuries are not survivable. This summer, water safety cannot be an afterthought. It must be a priority — because it’s a matter of life and death.
Drowning does not always look the way it is portrayed in movies or on TV. It is often silent. No dramatic screaming or splashing. A child can quietly disappear under the water within seconds. A teenager grows tired of fighting against the lake current, which appeared manageable moments before, and noiselessly slips away.
Drowning is the leading cause of death in children ages 1 to 4 and the second leading cause of unintentional death for children ages 5 to 14. Unlike gunshot wounds or car crashes, it often leaves no visible marks. Those who survive nonfatal drowning can face lifelong brain injury and disability. June through August consistently are the highest-incident months.
Many drowning incidents begin with ordinary, deeply human decisions. A parent engaged in conversation takes their eyes off their infant for a brief moment. A child with autism wanders away from home to a nearby lake. A teenager jumps off the boat because of the fear of missing out on the fun. In seconds, an ordinary summer day turns into a medical emergency.
The most recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggest that over 40 million Americans cannot swim, and over 54% have never had a swimming lesson. That is the backdrop against which Chicago’s beaches now open.
The swimming gap is sharpest by income: 79% of children from households earning under $50,000 have little to no swimming ability. African American and Hispanic children are disproportionately represented in that group, a legacy of segregated pools and recreational facilities. The consequences echo today through Chicago communities where swimming lessons remain inaccessible, unaffordable or culturally unfamiliar.
This summer, we believe Chicago has the opportunity to write a different story. But this is only possible if city leaders prioritize water safety.
We urge the Chicago Park District to expand access to free or low-cost swim lessons — beginning with South and West Side neighborhoods, which are statistically most vulnerable to drowning and least likely to have access to affordable swimming lessons. Currently, there are no children’s summer swim lessons available in these neighborhoods. That must change. Families in Austin, Englewood and Roseland should not have to travel to the North Side to access them. Swimming lessons save lives and should not be viewed as a luxury reserved for our city’s most affluent.
We also urge the city to ensure sufficient lifeguard staffing at all beaches and pools during the summer surge. The city’s historical lifeguard shortage and subsequent consequences are well documented. Lifeguards are essential safety personnel. Extend application deadlines and, if necessary, increase pay to ensure every public beach and pool has multiple lifeguards available during operating hours.
The Park District should issue Lake Michigan condition text alerts in Spanish, Polish and Mandarin — the three most common non-English languages spoken in Chicago — and post water safety signage at every public beach entrance.
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Every summer, Chicago rightfully focuses on public safety. We discuss violence prevention, transit security and emergency preparedness. Water safety also belongs in that conversation.
Behind every pediatric drowning statistic is a child whose life was cut short or whose future was forever changed. Chicago’s beaches and pools should be places where positive memories are made, not futures lost. This summer has the potential to be one of joy, safety and community pride.
Chuka Onuh is a third-year medical student at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine. Dr. Amy Hanson is an associate professor of pediatrics at the University of Chicago Medicine Comer Children’s Hospital.
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