P.A.R.T.Y. PROGRAM


Administrator: Sunnybrook Health Sciences Center
Partners: Toronto Safety Coalition and iNavigait
Jurisdiction: Ontario; web-based
Start date: 1986

Background: The P.A.R.T.Y. Program (Prevent Alcohol and Risk-Related Trauma in Youth) was developed in 1986 at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in an effort to reduce death and injury in alcohol, drug and risk-related crashes and incidents. In the year 2000, the trauma unit, Canada's first and largest trauma center, treated 909 trauma patients, of which 13% had died and the rest were left with various stages of injury. Almost all of those traumas were preventable.

Goal: P.A.R.T.Y. focuses on making smart choices. The goal of P.A.R.T.Y. is to provide young people with information about trauma injury that will enable them to recognize potential injury-producing situations, make prevention-oriented choices, and adopt behaviours that minimize unnecessary risk.

The program: The P.A.R.T.Y. Program is a one-day, in-hospital, injury awareness and prevention program for youth age 16 and older. It is offered two times each week during the school year to groups of 30-35 students, accompanied by a teacher or adult leader. Students follow the course of an injury from occurrence, through transport, treatment, rehabilitation and community reintegration. They interact with a team of health professionals including paramedics, nurses, physicians, and people who provide family support. Furthermore, the students are given information about:

  • Basic anatomy and physiology;
  • The mechanics of injury;
  • The effect that alcohol or drugs have on decision-making, risk assessment, concentration and coordination;
  • The nature of injuries that can be repaired, and those that cannot; and,
  • The effect of injury on families, finances and future plans.

The P.A.R.T.Y. team also includes actual people who have been injured, some still in acute care, others in rehabilitation, and some who have returned home. They provide a personal perspective on the challenge of dealing with injury and "putting one’s life back on track."

Contacts:

Joanne Banfield, RN BA
joanne@partyprogram.com

Louise Brown
louise@partyprogram.com

RBC First Office for Injury Prevention
Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre
H259 2075
Bayview Ave.
Toronto, ON M4N 3M5

Phone: 416-480-5912
Fax: 416-480-6865
Website: www.partyprogram.com