The Century Council provides $100,000 research grant to EMF

Overconsumption of alcohol remains a major health and safety issue affecting college students on campuses across the nation. As part of a multi-faceted initiative geared to significantly reduce college binge drinking and coinciding with National Collegiate Alcohol Awareness Week, The Century Council, a not-for-profit organization funded by distillers dedicated to fighting drunk driving and underage drinking, has provided a $100,000 research grant to the Emergency Medicine Foundation (EMF) to learn more about the role of emergency services with regard to college binge drinking. EMF continues to fund the priorities of the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP). Since EMF’s founding in 1972, ACEP has underwritten all of EMF’s expenses, so each dollar donated goes directly to critical research and education in emergency medicine. Availability of this grant was announced to researchers nationwide, at the American College of Emergency Physicians Scientific Assembly, in early October. Grant deadline is Feb. 1, 2010, and the application form and requirements can be found on EMF’s website, www.EMFoundation.org.

“The solution lies within the stakeholders including, school administrators, students, parents, retailers, law enforcement, community organizations, and emergency medical services,” said Alexander Rosenau, DO, FACEP, chair-elect of the Emergency Medicine Foundation Board of Trustees. “Emergency services are on the front lines of this issue and we have much to offer in the way of prevention and treatment of problem drinking. Research conducted by the Emergency Medicine Foundation will help us create a blueprint to effectively address this issue.”

The first phase of this initiative will involve the Emergency Medicine Foundation learning more about those young people who present themselves to emergency facilities due to alcohol-related incidents. The goal of the research project is to better understand:

• Circumstances surrounding overconsumption
• How they arrive (alone, with friends, EMS)
• Repeat visits
• Age/Gender
• Drinking experience
• Alcohol and other substances
• Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC)
• Percentage of visits to the ER as a result of acute alcohol poisoning

After the above initial research is completed, the Emergency Medicine Foundation and The Century Council will investigate the role emergency facilities may play in the college community with regard to prevention and treatment of binge drinking or overconsumption of alcohol. Specifically, the initiative will be looking at patient-specific linkage/communication with college administration, prevention/intervention, post-visit consultation/interaction/ referral, provision of data, and identification of metrics which might highlight positive and/or negative trends.

Currently, there are two programs The Century Council actively implements on college campuses to provide a basis for alcohol education for students:

• Alcohol 101 Plus encourages college students to make safe and responsible decisions about alcohol on college campuses. For more information, visit www.alcohol101plus.org.
• Parents, You’re Not Done Yet is a program that encourages parents of incoming college freshmen to continue to discuss underage drinking after they leave for school. To download a brochure, visit www.centurycouncil.org.

“The Century Council’s sponsorship of the 2009 American Advertising Federation-National Student Advertising Competition prompted the interest in learning the role emergency facilities may play in college communities. The additional research findings of the ACEP will only broaden the understanding of the cases that present themselves in the emergency room and thus provide valuable data to continue to develop effective programs at the college level to reduce binge drinking and overconsumption,” said Susan Molinari, Chairman of The Century Council.