Summer is the time for fun at the pool and barbecues on the beach for many Californians. Unfortunately, it is also the peak time from drowning accidents. At least 172 children died across the United States in drowning accidents between the Memorial Day holiday last year and the Labor Day weekend, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission. California had the most number of child drownings for the summer with 27 drownings and 15 nonfatal incidents.

Knowing CPR, emptying pools when they’re not in use, and never assuming that there isn’t enough water for a child to drown in, are a few of the ways that parents can protect their children during the summer.

Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital offers a Child and Infant CPR class to help give parents the confidence to handle stressful and potentially dangerous situations by teaching them infant cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR), choking procedures, as well as automated external defibrillator.

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Classes are held the third Wednesday of every month from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. in Conference Rooms 4 and 5, Human Resources Building, 23871 McBean Parkway, Valencia.  Participants will receive a Child/Infant CPR participation card from the American Heart Association. Cost is $35. To register, please call 661-253-8607.

In addition, the hospital offers the Family and Friends CPR program, a free community CPR class approved by the American Heart Association that teaches how to perform CPR on adults and how to help an adult who is choking.

Choking kills more than 3,000 people each year, according to the American Heart Association, and many of these lives could have been saved if someone nearby knew the life-saving rescue techniques.

“Time is critical for a choking victim,” said Thomas Stafford, CPR instructor and firefighter/paramedic for the Los Angeles Fire Department. “They can’t speak or breathe and need help immediately or they may die. Our class teaches participants how to recognize the signs and symptoms of a choking victim and the life-saving steps necessary to save a life.”

Classes meet on Thursdays from 7 to 8 p.m. in Henry Mayo’s Human Resources Building Conference Rooms 4 and 5, 23871 McBean Parkway, Valencia.  Classes are open to anyone who wants to learn CPR but does not need to be certified. Each participant will receive a course participation card upon completion. (This is not a certification course). To register, call 661-253-8888. For more information, please call 661-253-8408.