prom and EMS

[milhouse]

hey guys as we all know its that time of year that prom comes around and for some it has already come or is only a week away. with prom there is usually an after prom party of some sort were the kids go and hang out with there friends and sometimes there is alcohol involved and then they go and drive and get into an accident. when this happens it hurts/hits everyone in the community.

I'm wondering what you guys do for your community to help prevent such a thing. when i was in high school we had this thing called the "Last Dance" it is a reenactment of a car wreck with high school kids involved and usually an innocent. someone usually ends up dieing air evac comes in and air lifts some of the kids. and so on.

i seen one when i was in high school was in one durning my clinical time and just yesterday was in my second reenactment and this is put on for the HS. i think this helps a lot with showing teens what will/might happen to you or your friends if you drink and drive not just only on prom night but any night and i know it affected me.

so im wondering what kinda programs you or your community have set up to help prevent these things from happening.

thanks and take care

will

 

[Airwaygoddess]

Madd

We do a set up here with local high schools, the local fire department, ambulance service and MADD, and the Cal-Star which is are medivac chopper.
We set up an accident that involves ETOH and run the entire call with the allied agencies. It does have a positive impact on the students......-_-

 

[JPINFV]

Every two years each school in my high school's district (some schools 1 year, others the next. It looks like it's a state wide program judging from YouTube) have a program put on called "Every 15 Minutes." It's a 2 day event involving an assembly and a mock car accident. It's rather elaborate overall, but I do question some of it's effectiveness.

Interesting video on youtube depicting it. I'm not sure if the court room/trauma room scenes at the very end were done for the video or as a part of the complete program.

[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbeZtE-9dg0[/YOUTUBE]

 

[paramedix]

I really wish we had something to make the kids aware of the dangers. I dont think we have any specific awareness program other than the normal drink & drive adds.

It would be really great to have something set up for the kids.

 

[BossyCow]

The local MADD chapter here sponsors a program where they remove from the high school the number of kids expected to die in drug/alcohol related events. A guy dressed as the grim reaper just comes into a class, selects a child and takes them away. The kids 'selected' to represent the dead kids are treated royally for the day but they are not allowed any contact with anyone at the high school for 24 hours.

Its a pretty powerful program, and is followed up with an assembly but I'm not sure how effective it is at modifying behavior or changing attitudes, but its a tradition now.

 

[newtonfb19]

Though not aimed specifically at high school proms, an organization I am part of on my college campus organizes an alcohol awareness week every year. As part of that week, we bring in a car that was in a drunk driving wreck, along with news stories of the accident. Last year we brought in a jeep that had run off the road and struck a tree, killing both passengers inside. The driver was drunk, the passenger was sober. The car was so bent up, if I hadn't been told it was a car, I would have never known. Students really took notice of this, and I feel it successfully got our message across.

That same day we also had a poster next to the jeep that students could sign to pledge to not drink and drive. Though my campus only has about 1000 students, we managed to get almost 400 signatures in 6 hours.

 

[Ops Paramedic]

Nope, no such luck here. We always have to pick up the pieces. Then again, there is not a lot of diffrence between the prom night and any other day of the week...

 

[uselessmedic]

We do a reenactment every yr before the prom, someone gets arrested and one gets put on a helo besides the one or two declared dead. It seems to be working!!

 

[Jeremy89]

Thinking back a year to my Sr prom, I think the only thing they did was make us sign some stupid banner that they put up in the hall to remind everyone. It was funny seeing the people sign it, knowing they were gonna get hammered later...

 

[LucidResq]

Students at my school tried to organize a "One Every 15 Minutes" thing... with the grim reaper and "dead" students with white faces who would not speak for the rest of the day. They were going to then have an assembly on the matter and have eulogies for the "dead" students written by their parents.

Unfortunately the administration wouldn't allow it because they thought it might be disturbing (even though that's the point... to reveal how awful the problem is and emotionally affect students)

Instead they did a contract thing in which students going to prom signed a contract agreeing to not drink and drive. Those who signed were given red ribbons to tie on their car. Unfortunately at least half of the people who signed took it as a joke. It wasn't taken seriously at all.

 

[Jeremy89]

Students at my school tried to organize a "One Every 15 Minutes" thing... with the grim reaper and "dead" students with white faces who would not speak for the rest of the day. They were going to then have an assembly on the matter and have eulogies for the "dead" students written by their parents.

Now that I think about it, we did this at our school too... but again, it didn't work very well...

Wow, I can't even remember high school...now that's sad...

 

[BossyCow]

Now that I think about it, we did this at our school too... but again, it didn't work very well...

Wow, I can't even remember high school...now that's sad...

Its okay Jeremy, I can't remember most of the 70's!

 

[Outbac1]

Here they've taken on the P.A.R.T.Y. program, (Prevention of Alcohol Related Trauma in Youth). There is a video of a crash scene with paramedics, police and fire responding. One dead, some injured and the driver is taken by police. There are also interviews with hospital staff and a reenactment of a trauma room work up on an accident victim. Several interviews with people that have been affected by their own actions. I was surprised when I saw it as one interviewee was a guy I worked with on a line crew. He used to climb power poles. One night at a party he dove into a lake and hit his head on a rock. Now he is paralyzed.

The video is taken and shown in a high school class and discussed as it plays out. They try to have several different emergency workers, nurses, medics, police etc. to do the talk and answer questions. The boys don't like it when told where the long catheter goes. The girls chuckle until they find out they get one too.

Later they will have a wrecked car brought to the parking lot of the school. With some actors playing the victims the kids are brought out to see the wreck. At first they don't know its not real then EMS starts responding. Firemen cut up the car, people get taken out on boards and stuff. It looks pretty real.

For a grad party someone usually hosts it with a bonfire, music etc.. The kids can camp. When cars are in they don't leave. There are lots of chaperones and police road blocks on either side. No one is drinking and driving. The kids are encouraged not to drink, but many do. As long as they stay there, leave by taxi or are picked up by parents the cops don't bother them.

The kids get their party and we don't usually get any work.
Just a note the legal drinking age here is 19. I'm sure a google search will turn up some links for information if anyone wanted to start up a P.A.R.T.Y. program in your area.

 

[WLSC2008]

Both our local high schools hold mock accidents.

I think they work but we all know that sometimes there is just no prevention for some incidents.

 

[mikie]

with prom there is usually an after prom party of some sort were the kids go and hang out with there friends and sometimes there is alcohol involved and then they go and drive and get into an accident. when this happens it hurts/hits everyone in the community.

Sometimes IS an understatement!

Years ago at my high school, not quite related to prom but the fears of drunk driving, two medics (who I think tour the nation) came and spoke to the highschool. They took a volunteer and showed everyone what they would do if they were trapped in a car (well after the extrication)..

They put him on a board, then showed all the IV equipment, then a folly catheter, even pulled out a chest tube (of course didn't use them, but showed how/what they would do and why). Some people left the room, not just because of the graphic images...but they were scared of the folly!

 

[NYSEMT-B#357862]

my school has done two mock crashes..once for a prom..and then again for sr graduation last year, i think it should be for both every year, because both are major drinkin times....so ppl need to think...and these things really make them think..

 

[EMTrigger]

My Highschool also did the mock mva with Life star helicoptors with EMS and FD.
But For the Day of Graduation we have a thing called "Operation Graduation". After all the students take their walk and get their diplomas they spend some time with their families, that night everyone is voluntarily locked inside of the Highschool for food, games, prizes and music. Lots of college oriented prizes, DVD players, Video game consoles, Plasma TV's, Gift cards, Microwaves, things like that. We have dunk tanks for our teachers and principals and a chance to have one last hoorah. Once you enter you are locked in for the whole night. No re-entry. Every year there is a 99-100% turnout of students. Local businesses donate either money or prizes for the night. A great event that might have saved some lives.

 

[Pittsburgh Proud]

Interesting posts, My son will be a senior next year. I may have to approach the school about doing something like this.

They do a watered down version of what your saying here. No films or reenactments.

 

[Ridryder911]

Not trying to be a Devil's advocate, but in reality how successful are these type of programs and truthfully; do we see an increase on Prom night?

I am very used to this program, one of the medics I worked with helped invent the program and nationally won Paramedic of the year many years ago, for her work developing this. So you can imagine how many times we presented this. now; we no longer perform it.

After researching, we do not have any more accidents on "prom night" as any other night, rather usually long afterwards. As well, how much affect did this really have upon reducing alcohol consumption and driving? I would like to see some formal studies performed. Not that any public education against drunk driving, or EMS could be considered bad, but if there is better programs than others.

R/r 911

 

[Pittsburgh Proud]

Not trying to be a Devil's advocate, but in reality how successful are these type of programs and truthfully; do we see an increase on Prom night?

I am very used to this program, one of the medics I worked with helped invent the program and nationally won Paramedic of the year many years ago, for her work developing this. So you can imagine how many times we presented this. now; we no longer perform it.

After researching, we do not have any more accidents on "prom night" as any other night, rather usually long afterwards. As well, how much affect did this really have upon reducing alcohol consumption and driving? I would like to see some formal studies performed. Not that any public education against drunk driving, or EMS could be considered bad, but if there is better programs than others.

R/r 911

I was just sitting here watching the vid with my 15 year old daughter and a friend of hers and son standing by also.
We ask the same question .... Will it work. and we ended to conversation with well if one life is changed or it hits home for one kid that it would be worth it.
Agreed we ask if the kids get it.