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“There is still so much work that needs to be done,” said Pat Ruda, executive director of Coulee Council on Addictions.
The coalition is considering what parts of the plan they can accomplish since funding ended in June and new grants haven’t come though, said Al Bliss, health educator for La Crosse County Health Department.
Without new funding, the coalition will still meet and work on some initiatives, but not all of them, Bliss said.
The coalition was formed last year to develop a long-term plan to combat the number of alcohol-related injuries and deaths among 12- to 24-year-olds in La Crosse County.
It started with a grant from Healthier Wisconsin Partner-ship Program, but failed to receive a grant from the La Crosse Community Found-ation to continue its work.
The coalition is applying for another Healthier Wisconsin Partnership Program grant, which would provide $450,000 over three years, but that money, Bliss said, would not be awarded until March 2009. In the meantime, coalition members are looking at other grant opportunities in the county, Bliss said.
“We are committed to finding funding,” he said.
The coalition’s goals include reducing underage access to alcohol by standardizing keg registration rules and alcohol compliance checks across the county, Bliss said.
Since the last meeting, the coalition has a more complete Burden of Injury report, which shows the countywide cost of alcohol measured in manpower, injuries and lives.
The report provides a good start toward reducing risky drinking behavior, said Brenda Rooney, medical director for community and preventative care for Gundersen Lutheran.
For example, the report shows there were 14 alcohol-related deaths for 15- to 24-year-olds in the county from 2003-07 and 4,517 alcohol-related police calls in the city of La Crosse in 2006-07.
The report will be updated with new data over the years so the coalition can see any changes in behavior, Rooney said.
