SW Ambulance adds awareness vehicle

Peter MacKellar with Moses Anshell submitted this News By You item.

Summer may officially be over but Southwest Ambulance is remaining vigilant in promoting water safety to prevent child drownings.

The company recently added a drowning awareness ambulance to its fleet to increase public awareness of water safety.

The ambulance has a vehicle wrap featuring Southwest Ambulance's "Pool Pact" kids, who are used to promote water safety to children.

The ambulance also features safety tips for parents and children. These tips are part of the company's Pool Pact program, which raises community awareness about adult supervision of children around water and encourages learning CPR and constructing barriers around pools.

In addition, the program funds swim lessons for children and families in cities throughout the Valley.

Since the Pool Pact Program began five years ago, it has donated more than $240,000 and benefited 14,000 children and families. This year, the program gave $5,000 to Goodyear, which provided 448 children with free or reduced-cost swim lessons.

The drowning awareness ambulance will visit schools and community activities to spread the word about water safety. The ambulance is an extension of Southwest Ambulance's Tradition of Caring, an injury-prevention program.