NewYork-Presbyterian Healthcare System Receives $600,000 Grant From Heineken USA To Fight Underage Drinking
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Bryan Dotson
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From Heineken USA To Fight Underage Drinking
Pediatric Experts to Develop Program to Address Problem
New York, NY-July 29, 2005-The NewYork-Presbyterian Healthcare System and White Plains Hospital Center announced today participation in a national public education initiative to attack the problem of underage consumption of alcohol beverages through parent child communications. The program is funded by a three year, $600,000 grant from Heineken USA and marks the first time a major medical institution has joined with an alcohol beverage company on a program to reduce underage drinking.
The NewYork-Presbyterian Healthcare System and its partner members, the Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital and the White Plains Hospital Center, will develop the program materials.
"We are very pleased to receive support from Heineken USA to develop an initiative to fight underage drinking by helping parents communicate effectively with their children about this difficult and important issue," said Dr. Arthur Klein, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the NewYork-Presbyterian Healthcare System.
"This initiative, supported by Heineken USA, is in perfect alignment with NewYork-Presbyterian Healthcare System's mission to prevent disease and injury," said Dr. Daniel Hyman, Medical Director of the Ambulatory Care Network at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital and Assistant Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons.
The program will include educational materials in print and internet formats, as well as presentations by authors of the content. These materials are all designed to help adults send an effective, positive message to teenage children about the risks of alcohol consumption, and provide them with strategies to help them act safely and responsibly.
"We are excited about joining in this important program," said Jon B. Schandler, President and CEO of the White Plains Hospital Center. "Here in Westchester County, we have seen the effects of underage
drinking. But we have also seen that with the cooperation of companies like Heineken USA, progress can be made."
"We at Heineken USA are proud of our long term commitment to responsible consumption," said Frans van der Minne, President and CEO, Heineken USA. "In our view, responsible consumption for younger people means abiding by the law- following the 21-year-old legal age requirement.
"We endorse a multi-pronged effort to address underage drinking," Mr. van der Minne continued. "Providing materials that will help parents engage their underage children in a constructive dialogue about underage drinking is an important element of that effort, and we are pleased that the NewYork-Presbyterian and White Plains Hospital Center will be utilizing their expertise to develop credible and effective materials on this important subject."
Parent-child communications on alcohol is the first topic to be addressed in a series of materials that will focus on issues surrounding underage consumption of alcohol beverages.
In addition to funding the development, Heineken USA will put the NewYork-Presbyterian Healthcare System and White Plains Hospital Center materials on www.EnjoyHeinekenResponsibly.com, starting this summer. The company will also be working with its national distributor network to provide these materials to communities throughout the country.
White Plains Hospital Center is a voluntary, not-for-profit health care organization with the primary mission of offering high quality, acute health care and preventative medical care in a compassionate manner to all people who live in, work in or visit Westchester County and its surrounding areas. The Hospital has the busiest Emergency Department in Westchester County treating approximately 42,000 patients in 2004. Its "Centers of Excellence" include cardiology, emergency medicine, endoscopy, minimally invasive surgery, oncology, orthopedics, neonatal and maternity and radiology. The Hospital has won the National Research Corporation "Consumer Choice Award" for Westchester County for times, most recently in 2004. WPHC is an affiliate of the New York- Presbyterian Healthcare System and a member of Stellaris Health Network, Inc. and Voluntary Hospitals of America, Inc. For further information, please call 914-681-1119.
Heineken USA Inc., the nation's largest beer importer, is a subsidiary of Heineken International (Netherlands), which is the world's most international brewer. The Company and its affiliates are firmly committed to promoting responsible consumption of beverage alcohol. Among other distinctions, Heineken was the first brewer in the world to place a responsibility message on all of its bottles and cans. Heineken was also the first alcohol company to place a responsibility message on all of its television, radio and print advertising. Please visit www.EnjoyHeinekenResponsibly.com.
