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Show eomes H February 20, 2003 B UNDER THE INFLUENCE S BEHIND THE WHEEL Hill leads AFMC in DUI and underage drinking - many here hope to drive those numbers down Hilltop Times staff Drunk drivers kill. According to Mothers Against Drunk Driving 17,448 people were killed in of crashes representing all traffic deaths last year. More than 500,000 Americans are injured annually in crashes involving alcohol. The annual economic cost of crashes exceeds $1 14 billion. In Utah last traf68 year people were killed in alcohol-relatefic incidents. In an effort to minimize the possibility of Hill's airmen becoming a fatal statistic, Airmen Against Drunk Driving sponsors a program that will get base service members home safely if they are unable to drive. alcohol-- related nt alcohol-relate- goes out drinking knows beforehand. Occasionally a person may go out and have one or two drinks and things progress from there. Pick Since the first of the year, I lill has had four DUls as of Feb. 10. Last year Hill had 10 DUIs over the same time period, according to Tech. Sgt. Mark Bogerding, 75th Security Forces NCOIC police services. Two of the DUIs were off base, one was on base and the other was someone coming on to base at the South Gate. "In the state of Utah, even if you've had a glass of wine with a meal, you can get pulled over for a DUI, you don't necessarily have to have a blood alcohol level of .08 percent. If you're driving recklessly or do something wrong and you've had a drink, that constitutes a DUI," said Airman 1st Class Matthew Boswell, Hill's AADI) spokesperson. "We had a staff sergeant pulled over for not using a turn signal pulling out of a bar parking lot. He was busted for DUI." AADD provides airmen with a free ride home within a radius of Hill as a measure to keep airmen from DUI. The crew operates on weekends and special days, by Gary Boyle d d 35-mil- a designated driver, someone who'll not drink to get everybody home," said Bogerding. "The majority of our DUIs are off base or trying to come on to base as opposed to at Club Hill or driving the ID checks going, if streets and with of it's hard not to get to on, (base trying get you're 100-perce- caught." Security Forces patrolmen use the Standardized Sobriety Test which consists of three parts, walking in a straight line, standing on one foot and the horizontal gaze nystagmus test, where a patrolmen holds up a stimulus, often a pen or pencil, and moves it side to side while the subject eye trails it without external body movement. The test is given in a way that divides a subjects attention into following instructions on how to carry out the test and attempting to carry out those instructions. According to Boswell, Hill AFB leads the Air Force Materiel Command in I )UIs and underage drinking. To combat this alarming trend Hill provides services for airmen and civilian employees alike who feel they may have a substance abuse e such as holidays or during Mon- day Night Football. The conf- idential service has been offered at Hill for the last seven years, according to Boswell. In addition to AADD, most squadi ons have a first sergeant-sponsore- d quandary. "We want to get them in as soon as possible, in while we try to get people who we're but to sometimes motivated, swamped they're to do that," said Jeannie Pyke, a licensed substance abuse counselor with the Life Skills Support Center. "We have an intensive outpatient program that meets twice a week from 8 a.m. to noon for six to eight weeks. Civilians can use their annual or sick leave and military personnel can go with no loss of leave. The class allows them to assess their own alcohol use and find out what it has cost them and teach them how to lead a clean and sober lifestyle." Civilians have total confidentiality with the program, while military personnel have limited confidentiality but can control, to some extent, who the information is released to and when. Commanders are given certain details about their airman's involvement but records are kept under a double lock system at the center and can only be accessed by doctors. "I have never met a commander who did not into the support a patient who the best Commanders want for their program. people and are going to support those who try to help themselves before they have a problem that interferes with accomplishing the mission," said Pyke. Outside Club Hill, the bowling alley, and other establishments that serve or sell alcohol on base are signs that remind military patrons of their responsibility to remain able to serve their nation at a moment's notice. Penalties for a DUI or debilitating intoxication that interferes with their duty self-referr- program that pays taxi companies for driving airmen home who have been drink-in- g. Airmen reimburse the program after they use it Many squadrons also frequently provide a recall program where someone from the squadron will drive an intoxicated cadre home, according to Bogerding. "We'll give you a ride home so you're not endangering your life, the lives of others or your career," said Boswell. "Commanders are sick of it and they're crucifying everybody. If you're at a bar and see a drunk airman leave, you'll get in trouble too. If you're a passenger that does- self-referre- n't stop someone from driving drunk, you'll get in the same trouble as the driver.. If you're old enough to drink and you're drinking with people who are under age, you'll get in the same amount of trouble as they will." According to Bogerding, plan- ning is the best way to avoid placing oneself in the prospect of driving intoxicated. "Just about everybody who Base installing CPR units life-savin- g, by Staff Sgt. John Davis Public Access Defibrillation a study with a group of Program Coordinator 75th Medical Group and trained sixth-grade- Emergency It is 5:30 p.m. and you're standing in the Commissary checkout line talking to an elderly man in front of you. As you are chatting with him, he suddenly grabs his chest and collapses. A Commissary employee quickly arrives with an Automated External Defibrillator to restart this person's heart. According to the American Heart Association, the chance of survival for a person in cardiac arrest is decreased by 10 percent for every minute that defibrillation is delayed. The average response time for the Hill AFB fire department is four minutes. Also according to the AHA, 225,000 lives are lost each year due to sudden cardiac arrest. The organization believes this number can be decreased 49 percent by training laypersons in cardiopulmonary resus- citation and AED use. Soon these lifesavers will be coming to many key places at Hill. The Cardiac Arrest Survival Act of 2000 directed all federal facilities, including military installations to establish a Public Access Defibrillation program. In April 2000, former President Bill Clinton endorsed this act to save lives. In July 2002, the 75th Medical Group received instructe ions to implement a base-wid- PAD Program. A PAD work- ing group was established to identify base needs for AED placement and select a man- ufacturer for this program. copyV" Medical Tech- nicians. The devices were given to the sixth-grade- See DUI, page 11 4A Event Review Software, and Training and Tracking soft- The cost is a small price to pay when saving a life. For more information on the PAD Program contact Lt. Col. (Dr.) Mari Gringrich or Staff Sgt. John Davis, 75th Medical Group, Ext. ware for three years. All things considered, when someone is in cardiac arrest, every minute saved counts towards a successful resuscitation. g. These Automated External Defrlbillator Philips Medical, makers of the HeartStart FR2, was chosen. In December 2002, Philips Medical completed a survey to determine base-wid- e which buildings will be required to receive AEDs. Some of the buildings recommended include the BX, Commissary, Child Development Center, Youth Activities Center and Club Hill to name a few. Included in the Cardiac Arrest Survival Act of2000,isthe Good Samari- tan Act regarding the use of AEDs. "Any person who uses or attempts to use an AED on a victim of a perceived medical emergency is immune from civil liability for any harm resulting from the use or attempted use of the device. In addition, any person who acquired the device is immune from such liability if the harm was not due to the failure of such acquirer of the device," reads the legislation. To prove how safe and easy AEDs are to operate, Dr. Gust H. Bardy at the Division of Cardiology, University of Washington in Seattle, conducted o rs to use without any train-insixth-grade- d Job fair rs ---- - were able to t - opens doors safely and prop device the use only takerly 19 seconds than more the ing by Beth Young trained EMTs. When personnel are trained in CPR and how to use the AED, they are instructed not to put the device on a person with a pulse. In a state of panic, a layperson may put the device on an individual who has collapsed. The AED will auto- h '" i J Hilltop Times staff " i The Career Focus Program will soon make job hunting a little easier by putting all the targets in one place. The Fam- ' I matically analyze the chest for a heart rhythm and if it finds one, will not shock the person. This device will only shock a person that is in true cardiac arrest. The success of this device ings. "The job fair is designed to assist Hill members who are actively pursuing employ-ment- ment assistance manager. Agencies will offer various job types from administrative and technical to temporary and permanent. Attendees should come prepared to fill out applications and with resumes, if available. The fair is open to anyone with access to the base. daily basis throughout the United States. Tech. Sgt. Chester Wilds, who was assigned to the 75th Medical Operations Squadron in December 2001, while on a flight from Anchorage, Alaska, to Salt Each of these life saving devices will have a purchase price of $4,000 to $5,000. This price includes training of personnel, maintenance, medical direction, a Fast Response Kit, ," said Steve Rose, employ- is proven time and again on a Lake City successfully resuscitated an elderly man on the flight using this same device. Support Center will host a job fair Tuesday from 1 - 4 p.m., with more than a dozen agencies, all with job openily " Jean fl .j i A i i Photo by Beth Young Worthy, left, an AAFES supervisor, practices using the Automated External Defibrillator with the help of Brenda Ferguson on a medical training mannequin. The unit, which will be placed at key places such as the BX, weighs less than five pounds and is strong enough to withstand being run over by a truck. The resources here are great It is great being able to get all this information in one stop," said Jeff Iindberg, Hill civilian employee, wl a previous job fair. attended B Set Job fair, page 11 |