'DROWNING EPIDEMIC' CHILDREN'S DEATHS SOARING THIS SUMMER.

Byline: Lisa Mascaro Staff Writer

Drowning deaths and near-drownings of children have taken a tragic toll in Los Angeles and Ventura counties this summer despite public education campaigns about the hazards of swimming pools, officials said Thursday.

Today, as the last weekend of the season gets under way, officials at one of Ventura County's largest hospitals will publicize the dramatic increase in childhood deaths and urge parents to be cautious with little ones around pools and lakes this holiday weekend.

``I'm calling this a drowning epidemic,'' said Kris Carraway-Bowman, spokeswoman for Los Robles Regional Medical Center in Thousand Oaks where this morning's press conference is scheduled.

``It's not like the little kid brought in on the ambulance that picked up a virus or some kind of terrible disease like cancer. ... These are preventable deaths. We just need to stop this.''

Though official summer tallies are still under way, emergency room workers and others who document the trends said the summer months have proved deadly this year.

Los Robles reported an increase in child drowning deaths from one last summer to six so far this year, including the well-publicized death of a 4-year-old boy during a pool-side party at rock drummer Tommy Lee's Malibu area home.

Childrens Hospital Los Angeles reported a 25 percent to 30 percent increase in near-drownings this summer, while the hospital has seen a doubling of deaths - from two last year to four this year.

Emergency room workers know the stories well - the parent who just left the pool for a minute to answer the phone, get a towel, tend to another child.

In the case of 3-year-old Angelica Martinez, she almost drowned earlier this month in the time it took her relatives to sing ``Happy Birthday'' at a backyard pool party in Covina, family members said.

Constant vigilance

Officials and parents say there is no substitute for constant vigilance in the water and preventive steps to keep kids out of unsupervised pools.

``Until something sort of smacks them in the face, people they just don't think of the danger of kids around pools,'' said Billie Weiss, director of injury and violence prevention programs with the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services.

Angelica was swimming at her relative's backyard pool, like she had many times before, when she slid into a toy hoop that she thought would hold her up but instead took her straight under, her family said.

As the grown-ups gathered around the table to sing ``Happy Birthday,'' no one noticed the girl was in trouble except a 10-year-old relative, who pulled her out and was honored at his local church for the heroics, family members said.

``There were some adults by the pool area but they were facing the birthday cake,'' said Emily Heredia, who is engaged to the child's father. ``We didn't really wonder about the kids, we had my mother-in-law outside and a lot of adults.''

A relative performed CPR on the girl and started her breathing until paramedics arrived and the youngster was airlifted to Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, Heredia said.

``Always, always, like I said, have somebody - not around - but in front of the pool area,'' Heredia said, ``because it could happen very quick.''

While family members said the child suffered no long-term impacts, emergency room director Dr. Alan Nager at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles said he's seen more youngsters this summer end up with with serious injuries from near-drowning incidents.

``The proportion of kids we're sending to the ICU with significant neurological problems is far greater than what it used to be,'' he said.

Long-term health implications range from cognitive deficits and developmental delays to a childhood in special schools or with round-the-clock care.

``For the child it can be devastating,'' Nager said. ``It's not only the physical, it's the emotional, a lot of these kids go through this terrifying (experience), it stays with them a long time.''

Toddler danger

A report released earlier this summer showed that among childhood drowning deaths, infants are most likely to drown in the bathtub and adolescents are most likely to drown in freshwater sources such as rivers, lakes or ponds. For toddlers, swimming pools are the most likely place.

New pools constructed after 1992 are required to have either a 5-foot fence with an inside latch or pool alarm, according to state law, but existing pools are not covered under the regulation, Weiss said.

Authorities add that bathtubs and buckets - while a parent is washing a car, a toddler peers into a bucket and topples in - can be just as dangerous.

``People get lured into a false sense of security that they know their house very well, they know their child very well,'' Carraway-Bowman said. ``The fact is they don't, the proof is in these six drownings.''

Weiss said that for every childhood drowning death, the estimate is between two and 10 severe near-drownings occur.

1990 tragedy

It was a busy August morning in 1990 when little Bridgette Nemeth found a chance to wiggle free of the watchful eyes of grown-ups and out the sliding-glass door to the Sylmar family's backyard pool.

The 21-month-old toddler held on for a full day at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, even though experts told her family there was little chance she would pull through.

``We just kind of had to stand by and watch her fade,'' said her father, Richard Nemeth, who had been at his family-run sporting goods store that morning.

His wife and the baby-sitter searched the home and neighborhood for the missing toddler - they had looked in the pool first, in fact, but checked the deep end and overlooked her in the shallow end. ``We knew that night there was no hope.''

The family returns each year for an annual end-of-summer balloon-letting party held by a Verdugo Hills support group for parents who have lost children - they've donated the helium and balloons in past years.

Nemeth said he's come to accept that death is a part of living, and tries to move on with his life - though he admits even when his now 17-year- old son is out back in the pool, he's watching.

``Even when he goes out there, I let him alone, (but) I'm checking every two minutes. ... I wouldn't decide to go to the market,'' he said.

``It's something you don't want to go through once ... (and) not more than once.''

Carraway-Bowman said she's baffled by this year's turn of events across the Conejo Valley region her hospital serves.

``It's simple: Hire a lifeguard,'' Carraway-Bowman said about the now- common trend of hiring $25-an-hour guards for backyard pool parties. ``You don't have to be a celebrity to hire a lifeguard ... call the YMCA.''

Nager said he believes the trend is a sign of the busy times.

``I think our society is more distracted,'' said the ER director. ``When you're attempting to watch a child in a pool and you're distracted, those few seconds you're away may make a difference in someone's life.''