PARTY (Prevent Alcohol and Risk Related Trauma in Youth)
The PARTY program is a dynamic, interactive injury prevention and health promotion program for teenagers and young adults. The program is aimed at reaching the audience with the greatest incidence of trauma injury and death - those aged 15-24.
Theda Clark Medical Center was the first organization in the United States to start the PARTY program in 1998.
With the generous support of the Theda Clark Medical Center Foundation and administration, as well as multiple health and law enforcement professionals, about 1,000 local high school students had the opportunity to experience this program recently.
Students 14-to-18 years old experienced a full day of injury prevention. They followed the path of an injury survivor and met trauma professionals - including paramedics, emergency physicians, nurses and therapists - who described the painful journey of a trauma patient. During this day-long presentation, they also heard the hard facts about head and spinal cord injuries, as well as students had hands-on experience with the equipment used in trauma care and rehabilitation.
The most powerful part of the day was the injury survivor presentation. This by far had the greatest impact on teens and left an impression that, for some, lasts a lifetime.
Our version of the PARTY program incorporates the "Think First" prevention program, which is a registered service mark of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons and Congress of Neurological Surgeons. The "Think First" program is an important injury prevention strategy that reaches young people in our area with the message that injuries are both predictable and preventable.
The Wisconsin Department of Transportation (DOT)/ Bureau of Transportation Safety is a wonderful resource to our program, providing statistics for use in our presentations. Recent tragic events involving the deaths of local teens in motor vehicle crashes along with current DOT information reinforce the critical need to address the major health issues caused by unintentional injury.
In Wisconsin, current DOT statistics reveal that:
- Every 45 minutes a teen driver has an injury crash.
- Every eight days a teen driver is killed in a crash.
- For two out of every three 16-19 year old drivers killed in motor vehicle crashes, this was their first and last crash!
- As of May 2000, 54 of the year’s crash victims were between the ages of 15 and 19, compared with 93 for all of 1999.
Nationwide, current DOT statistics reveal that:
- The most frequently injured age group is 15-24 years, with motor vehicle accidents accounting for 54% of all reported injuries.
PARTY was developed in 1986 in Toronto, Canada to educate teens on the perils of risk-taking behavior and the tragic consequences that can occur. The program was designed to expose teenagers to the tragic consequences of drinking and driving, noncompliance to seat belt legislation, and dangerous behaviors - such as diving into shallow water.
Through Appleton Medical Center Emergency Department, Dr. Cyril Walsch, we became aware of this dynamic injury prevention program. Our program was started after Walsch saw the impact of the program first-hand during a site visit in Calgary, Canada.