Published Wednesday, April 3, 2002
FARRELL, GREENVILLE
Find out April 11 if you drink too muchBy Erin Remai
Herald Staff Writer
Two locations in Greenville and one in Farrell will be among about 2,000 sites for National Alcohol Screening Day on April 11.
Thiel College and Family Planning Services of Mercer County, 74 Shenango St., both Greenville, and People in Need of Mercer County, 602 Roemer Blvd., Farrell, will distribute alcohol screening surveys that day.
The screenings at Thiel, sponsored by the college football team, will be from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Howard Miller Student Center.
As part of the program, students at Thiel may complete an anonymous, written questionnaire about alcohol; talk with a health-care professional and, if appropriate, receive a referral to support or treatment services on campus, according to a news release from the college.
Assistant football coach Donovan Beidelschies said the survey contains 15 questions about alcohol use, including:
In addition to the surveys, the students will also receive packets of information and may watch a video about college students and alcohol. A counselor will be available to talk to students who feel they need help, Beidelschies said.
Family Planning Services will have surveys available to all those who have appointments that day but will also give surveys to anyone in the community who is interested, said clinician Diane Horneman.
Ms. Horneman said the screenings are helpful because sometimes a patient is not ready to admit to alcoholism. However, she emphasized, a screening is not a diagnosis.
National Alcohol Screening Day, which is held as part of Alcohol Awareness Month, is a program of the nonprofit Screening for Mental Health in collaboration with the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's Center for Substance Abuse Treatment and Center for Substance Abuse Prevention.
To find other sites, call (800) 405-9200 or visit www.mentalhealthscreening.org