HOSPITAL LAUNCHED DRUG PROGRAM FOR STUDENTS

The best way to solve a problem is to make sure it doesn't happen at all.

This was the acknowledgement made by Stevenson Memorial Hospital when it
ran a drug abuse program from 1985 to the late 1990s for school kids.

While SMH, like most hospitals, is generally looked upon as a place to care
for the sick, students were shown "the flip side of taking drugs," as the
hospital's former director of volunteer services, Grace Dunn, described in
a news release at the time.

As part of the Values, Influence and Peers (VIP) program run by local
schools and police departments, students were given a tour of the hospital.
That tour included a simulated drug overdose accompanied by dialogue from
the emergency, pharmacy and ambulance departments.

The program began in December 1985 with 21 Grade 6 students from Alliston
Union Public School. By September 1990, 500 students from 10 different
schools had taken the tour.

When they were finished, teachers and students were asked to fill out an
evaluation. It asked for the group's opinion on different aspects of the
tour, with a mark from one to five.

All but two of the thirteen samplings kept on file got straight A's. A form
filled out in 1993 by teachers D. Pillar and C. Jackson from Tosorontio
Public School are typical of the high praise the hospital received for the
tour.

They wrote, 'The emergency room presentation is the ultimate! If a picture
is worth 1,000 words, the hospital tour is a never ending story that just
gets better every year and will stay with the children forever.'

Unfortunately, the tour got too good and the high volume of students
started to cramp the busy hospital, said Nancy Mann, current head of
volunteer services at SMH. In 1998 or 1999 the hospital was forced to
discontinue the school tour program.

"We often had to clear the kids," when an emergency came in, said Mann. "We
didn't feel we were being effective with the whole thing."

While the students now get the drug abuse program solely from the OPP, Mann
stressed the importance of the program to the hospital.

"It was part of our history," she said. "We tried to tailor it to the age
group and the interest."

As part of the celebration of that history and other events in the
community hospital's 75 years, a special event is planned for Aug. 30 and
everyone is invited to attend.

It will include a garden party, games and competitions including celebrity
softball games, refreshments and will conclude with a spectacular fireworks
display.

All the fun will be held on the hospital grounds and Riverdale Park
starting at 2 p.m.