Felician College Offers Screenings for Alcohol Problems
on National Alcohol Screening Day, April 5

Rutherford, NJ -- Have you or someone you know ever blacked out after a night of drinking, had a drink to calm your nerves or to forget your worries, tried to cut back on your drinking but realized you couldn’t?  If so, you could be one of the nearly 14 million Americans that has an alcohol disorder.

Felician College Center for Health and Counseling Services is offering free, anonymous screenings for alcohol problems as part of National Alcohol Screening Day on Thursday, April 5.  The free screenings will be held at the Health Center on the Rutherford Campus, 223 Montross Avenue from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

National Alcohol Screening Day (NASD), held in April 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 (NIAAA), the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT) and the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP).  Screenings will be held across the country at approximately 2,000 screening sites, including hospitals alcohol and addiction treatment centers, and colleges.

Participants who visit Felician College’s Health Center on April 5 will view an educational video on alcohol problems, complete a written self-test, and have the opportunity to talk privately with a health professional.  Pamphlets, brochures and flyers will be available, as well as referrals to local treatment and support resources for those who need further evaluation.

Eileen Ralley, MSN, APRN, BC, Director of Student Health and Counseling Services at Felician College says, “The program is designed to educate the public about alcohol problems and offer those who may be struggling a way to seek help. Education, awareness and understanding – the kind of outreach provided by this program – are key factors to reducing alcohol abuse in this country.”

NASD is aimed at the general community and all are invited to attend.  Building on the success of last year’s program, NASD 2001 is once again focusing on teaching participants how to recognize if they or a loved one is abusing alcohol and how to get the help they need.

Signs that they or a friend or loved one may have an alcohol problem:

·        Drinking to calm nerves, forget worries or boost a sad mood

·        Guilt about drinking

·        Unsuccessful attempts to cut down/stop drinking

·        Lying about or hiding drinking habits

·        Causing harm to oneself or someone else as a result of drinking

·        Needing to drink increasingly greater amounts in order to achieve desired effect

·        Feeling irritable, resentful or unreasonable when not drinking

·        Medical, social, family, or financial problems caused by drinking

Sponsors of NASD include the American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry, American Academy of Physician Assistants, American Council on Alcoholism, American Medical Association, American Osteopathic Association, American Psychiatric Association, American Psychological Association, American Society of Addiction Medicine, College Parents of America, Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America, Higher Education Center for Alcohol and Other Drug Prevention, Join Together, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, National Association of Alcoholic and Drug Abuse Counselors, National Association for Children of Alcoholics, National Association of Psychiatric Health System, National Center for Farmworker Health, National Collegiate Athletic Association, National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, National Interfraternity Conference, National Mental Health Association, National Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, National Panhellenic Conference and the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine.

The program is the result of a collaboration between the nonprofit Screening for Mental Health, Inc., the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT), and the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP).

For additional information about alcohol or the screening program, please call the Felician College Student Health and Counseling Services Office at 201-559-3559.