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PARTY makes consequences feel real for students

The Prevent, Alcohol, Risk-related, Trauma in Youth (PARTY) program aims to give students a first-hand look at the realities and aftermath of a serious accident.

First responders know the harsh realities of a serious crash site.

Tuesday a number of agencies and groups from Moose Jaw came together to give students from Riverview Collegiate and Cornerstone Christian School as close to a true taste of that reality as they could through the Prevent, Alcohol, Risk-related, Trauma in Youth (PARTY) program.

“For all of the years that we’ve been to accident scenes and seen things and seen parents and seen kids hurt or even pass away, it’s just really important for us to have them think twice when they’re out there,” said Angela Sereda, an advanced care paramedic and CEO/Deputy Chief of Moose Jaw and District EMS.

The students took part in a mock crash where the Jaws of Life were used. The “victims” – their fellow classmates – were then transported from the ambulance into the emergency ward where the students got to see how trauma victims are treated.

Nolan Barnes followed with his story about being paralyzed after surviving a fatal motor vehicle crash. The students broke for lunch, but the lessons didn’t stop there. They were each given an “injury” – be it loss of vision, loss of mobility in an arm or even being confined to their chair – before they were able to try to eat.

The day concluded with a look at the realities of a physiotherapy session and then small presentations from the police, EMS, Jones-Parkview Funeral Services and addictions services.

“The biggest thing we always want these kids to walk away with is good decision-making skills,” Sereda said. “It’s not having them live in a bubble. It’s not having them not live their life or do fun things, but it’s basically for them to know some of the circumstances that can happen by doing risky behavior. Also, for them to recognize that risky behavior first and make good decisions after that.

“I have a teenage daughter who is almost 15 and I also run a mentorship group for teenage girls. So it’s more about not saying ‘no, don’t do any of this stuff’ – and realizing that they will – but helping them make those good decisions and not have it feel like a lecture. Hopefully they’ll have some more buy-in and learn a little more.”

The involvement of everyone from the Five Hills Health Region; Moose Jaw Police Service; Moose Jaw and District EMS; RCMP and the Moose Jaw Fire Department helped make the mock crash as real as possible and all involved hope that the message hits home so that they will have fewer real accidents to deal with in their professions.

“Moose Jaw is a small place where everyone knows everyone,” said Deign Salido, a respiratory therapist who was one of the presenters of the emergency room session. “In the back of our minds we are always fearful that it could be someone you know or even your own child who could come in. We have to remain focused on our jobs, but that’s always in the back of your mind. I don’t ever want to see any of you here.”

The PARTY program was started by students in Toronto in the 1980s and has grown to six countries.

The program aims to give students a vivid and emotional experience.

“It was pretty surreal,” said Meagan Barclay, a Grade 10 student at Cornerstone Christian School who took part in the mock crash. “When I was coming in through the ambulance and they were walking down the hallway, every time I would open my eyes it would seem really weird. Then I was getting hooked up to all of the IVs and everything like that… even though it was fake, it was still a really surreal experience.”

Surreal, but hopefully an experience that never becomes real for any of the students who took part.

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