Northern Light Sebasticook Valley Hospital
447 North Main Street, Pittsfield, Maine 04967
Project Director: Sherry Tardy
Contact Phone Number: 207.487.4085
Email Address: stardy@northernlight.org
https://www.northernlighthealth.org/svh
Sebasticook Valley Health dba Northern Light Sebasticook Valley Hospital (SVH) on behalf of the Healthy Sebasticook Valley (HealthySV) Coalition has developed a program to meet the significant need in the population of focus to reduce the adverse effects of alcohol consumption by youth. The population of focus (POF) for our proposed project is youth aged 12-18 residing in the Sebasticook Valley region of Maine (Burnham, Corinna, Detroit, Dixmont, Etna, Hartland, Newport, Palmyra, Pittsfield, Plymouth, and St. Albans) who indicate an exceptionally low perception of risk related to underaged alcohol use, including low perception of risk from the consumption of 1 to 2 drinks daily. This POF indicates higher than state averages for middle school student past 30-day consumption of one drink of alcohol. The social norms around underage drinking in this POF reflect a high percentage of students reporting that their parents accept alcohol use (1-2 drinks per day). More than 70% of Sebasticook Valley, where this POF resides, are designated rural and eligible for rural health grants according to the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration. Substance use prevention and treatment resources are scarce and community partners rely on strong collaboration with multi-sector organizations to reach remote towns and residents.
HealthySV will use the STOP Act Grant to reduce youth alcohol use and increase youth perception of risk associated with daily alcohol consumption. To achieve this goal HealthySV will develop a 12-month action plan each year that is responsive to the Maine Integrated Youth Health Survey data. Implementation of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention Sticker Shock initiative to increase awareness of risks for adults purchasing alcohol for minors and remind retailers to follow State of Maine carding laws. Two town hall meetings and six digital media campaigns will support community members’ education regarding youth alcohol use. Partnerships with local and state agencies will enhance access, reduce barriers, and improve connections between systems and services that prevent youth alcohol use. Training for Intervention Procedures will be provided to alcohol retailers, servers, and staff of area establishments. HealthySV will change social norms, increasing perception of risk associated with daily use of alcohol via the Sticker Shock initiative and partnering with local school departments to promote evidence-based curriculums to reduce youth substance use. The work plan/timeline of this STOP Act grant application has been crafted to complement the activities already funded under HealthySV CARA Local Drug Crisis grant, with no programmatic, budgetary, or commitment of personnel time overlap.
