Child watcher program designed to prevent drownings

Trinity, Florida - This summer there have been countless stories of young people who've drowned in Bay area pools, sometimes with a parent nearby, and in one instance there were two lifeguards on watch when a child drowned.

But, the news of a 13-year-old girl drowning in a pool Friday night with her older brother and sister nearby has a Bay area mother trying to spread the word about pool safety.

In 2004, Sandra Testo-Michaud's two-year-old daughter, Katelyn, was watching cartoons and munching on a snack. Sandra went to check the answering machine and says, "I came out and she was gone. She was not sitting there. Her milk was half gone and her cookie was half eaten."

Little Katelyn had slipped out the sliding glass door. Sandra explains, "She'd gotten out. She was floating at the deep end of the pool."

Sandra says a pool company had taken down the safety fence around their pool. Katelyn couldn't swim but was set to start lessons when she turned three. "People don't realize it takes less than a minute, or a minute, and they're gone."

But, Katelyn's memory lives on because Sandra and her brother started The Katelyn Foundation. It pays for free swimming lessons for kids in Pasco County.

Sandra has also started the "Designated Child Watcher Program". Adult volunteers pledge to do nothing else but watch over the pool with eagle eyes whenever kids are there. Sandra says, "If you think about it, when you're at a party one person may think the other person is watching them, you turn your back, and drownings can happen quickly, in less than a minute."

If the volunteer needs to leave the pool area for any reason, they put another adult in charge. They keep a phone nearby and also make sure rescue equipment is easily accessible.

They're required to latch gates, lock doors, and use alarms to create two or more barrriers to the pool or spa.

The foundation hopes to be able to pay for a certain amount of safety fences each year for families who need them.

For more information about The Katelyn Foundation, click here.