Be Part of the Largest Swimming Lesson on June 22

Mercy Health – Cincinnati, which provides advanced, quality care with compassion in your neighborhood through its care network, invites the community to enjoy a free swimming lesson and participate in the eighth annual World's Largest Swimming Lesson (WLSL).

WLSL is a global event taking place in 500 locations in more 20 countries on Thursday, June 22, to emphasize that swimming lessons save lives. Cincinnati takes part in the WLSL from 1:15-1:45 p.m. and swimmers of all ages can come for a free swimming lesson at the Mercy Health - Anderson, Fairfield and Queen City HealthPlexes, which once again are serving as official host location facilities for the WLSL 2017 event:

• Anderson HealthPlex, 7495 State Road, Cincinnati, OH 45255
• Fairfield HealthPlex, 3050 Mack Road, Fairfield, OH 45014
• Queen City HealthPlex, 3131 Queen City Ave., Cincinnati, OH 45238

Since its inception, more than 195,000 children and adults from 41 countries have participated in the WLSL. Last year, more than 40,000 kids and adults participated in WLSL events in 24 countries. TEAM WLSL™ holds the current Guinness World Record™ for the largest simultaneous swimming lesson conducted at multiple venues.

Tragically, drowning remains the leading cause of unintended, injury related death for children ages 1-4, and the second leading cause of accidental death for children under 14. An American Red Cross survey found that more than half of all Americans (54 percent) either can't swim or don't have all of the basic swimming skills. Research shows that participation in formal swimming lessons can reduce the risk of drowning by 88% among children aged 1 to 4, yet many kids do not receive formal swimming or water safety training.

The Mercy Health HealthPlexes offer a wide range of swimming lessons for learners of all ages. For more information, please visit MercyHealthPlex.com or call 513-942-PLEX.