Student emergency visits for alcohol treatment reach new high

Student emergency visits for alcohol treatment reach new high

Penn State Student Alcohol-Related Visits to Mount Nittany Medical Center Emergency Dept (click on graphic for larger view)

University Park, Pa. -- The number of Penn State student visits to the Mount Nittany Medical Center emergency department for alcohol-related treatment hit a record high in calendar year 2008, with 558 students receiving medical help.

In 2005, 304 students made alcohol-related visits, an 84 percent increase in three years.

Not only are more students being treated, their average blood alcohol level continues to increase as well, rising from 0.234 percent in 2005 to 0.252 percent last year. The legal limit in Pennsylvania for driving under the influence, sometimes used as a benchmark for intoxication, is 0.080 percent.

"The numbers for the fall months of 2008 are particularly troubling," said Bill Mahon, vice president for University Relations and co-chair of the Campus and Community Partnership United Against Dangerous Drinking. "Between August and December, 313 Penn State students sought emergency alcohol-related care.

"That's an increase of more than 100 student visits over the fall 2007 time frame, and came at a time when a number of new, creative alcohol-education initiatives were launched on campus and in downtown State College. But some of the best educational preventive programs around apparently can't compete with five-cent beer specials."

The average age of students visiting the emergency department over the last four years is 20, a year below the legal drinking age.

"With local businesses joining with student groups this week to promote a so-called State Patty's Day event this coming Saturday, I'm concerned about the increasing toll this is having on students and others in this community," Mahon said.

State College Mayor Bill Welch, who also co-chairs the Campus and Community Partnership, aimed similar sentiments directly toward students.

"These statistics are the tip of a very large iceberg, one that brings misery and injury to far too many young people," Welch said. "Take my advice: if you must drink, don't get drunk."