Wisconsin Alcohol Policy Project (WisAPP) Events

The webinar discussed the proposed overhaul of alcohol regulations in AB 304/SB 332, which was described as "sweeping changes," by Speaker Robin Vos. Topics covered included what is in the legislation, the proposed changes to availability and production of alcohol, and what it may mean for local coalitions if it is passed.

The webinar was led by Felice Borisy-Rudin, JD, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Policy Analyst, Wisconsin Alcohol Policy Project (WisAPP), Comprehensive Injury Center, Medical College of Wisconsin.

She was joined by Alexandra Johns, a law student intern from Marquette Law School, Milwaukee and WisAPP Director, Maureen Busalacchi.

Are you using POLD in your community? Or would you like to learn from others who engaged in POLD efforts?

This free virtual event featured a panel discussion led by Emily Thompson, JD, from the Wisconsin Department of Justice, with law enforcement officers discussing POLD in their communities. There were breakout sessions with agencies and coalitions who shared lessons learned from their POLD experiences. And, we closed with what comes next by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation.

View the POLD meeting agenda (PDF)

Maureen Busalacchi, Director of WisAPP, and Felice Borisy-Rudin, Policy Analyst for WisAPP, shared the current Wisconsin legislative calendar, how to follow issues, current bills, and a brief advocacy brush up.

Wisconsin has high rates of excessive alcohol use that impact public safety and health.

The Alcohol Policy Seminar has been held since 2010 when the Wisconsin Alcohol Policy Project was founded at the UW-Law School. In 2021 it moved to the Medical College of Wisconsin's Comprehensive Injury Center where it will carry on the proud tradition of supporting efforts to reduce excessive alcohol use in Wisconsin.

The Wisconsin Alcohol Policy Seminar works to provide tools, training, and opportunities to network with local, state and national experts from prevention, law enforcement, local officials, public health, medicine and more.

Conference Summary

With 130 in person and virtual attendees, the Alcohol Policy Seminar was led off by Keynote speaker Sean Haley, PhD, MPH, "Why Is Paddling Upstream So Hard and So Important?" from City University of New York. He gave a great talk about why working upstream is so important, how we are the folks who step forward, and energized the audience. That followed with 15 workshops throughout the day including talks with law enforcement, epidemiologists’ community coalitions, physicians, and other professionals. After lunch, Carlton Hall from Carlton Hall and Associates gave an energizing talk, “The Fierce Urgencies of Now! Changing the Conversation about The Role of Prevention, Commercialization, and Inequity in a Time of National Crisis.” He further inspired the audience to work hard for prevention methods that work and ensure equity.

Attendees commented:

• "Really good presenters for key notes and breakout sessions! I had a hard time picking which ones I wanted to go to!"
• "The breakout sessions were relevant, engaging, and kept attendee attention."
• "A very diverse community and passionate."
• "The hybrid format. I attended virtually and it was a very good experience."

Overall, 93% of attendees found the APS useful and 100% walked away with more of an understanding of the data around excessive alcohol use.

Thank you to all who attended! We look forward to planning the next one in 2024.

View full details for APS 2022 on the UW-Steven's Point website

The webinar presented information about the state of alcohol use in Wisconsin and the impact of alcohol on injury – especially to young people. The webinar started with sharing of information from Wisconsin Alcohol Policy Project's (WisAPP) director, Maureen Busalacchi, and both pediatric and adult emergency room physicians, Mike Levas, MD, MS, and Stephen Hargarten, MD, MPH. Most of the webinar was a conversation with questions from the participants.

WEBINAR PRESENTERS

Stephen Hargarten, MD, MPH currently serves as the Associate Dean for Global Health for the Office of Global Health at the Medical College of Wisconsin. Dr. Hargarten is a Professor of Emergency Medicine and the Founding and former Director of the College’s Comprehensive Injury Center. Dr. Hargarten graduated from the Medical College of Wisconsin in 1975 and completed his internship at Gorgas Hospital in the Canal Zone of Panama in 1976. He completed his MPH at Johns Hopkins School of Public Health and Hygiene focusing on injury prevention and control. In 2011, Dr. Hargarten was nominated and inducted into The Johns Hopkins Society of Scholars. Dr. Hargarten has practiced emergency medicine for over 35 years and is a nationally and internationally recognized leader in injury prevention and control. He has published numerous peer reviewed articles that have advanced our understanding in a variety of injury problems including travel related deaths of US Citizens, (including Peace Corps volunteers), alcohol related deaths and injuries, and violent deaths and injuries. He has served on the Violence and Injury Prevention Mentoring Committee for the World Health Organization and currently serves on the board of directors of the Association for Safe International Road Travel (ASIRT) and Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety. He has received numerous awards in recognition for teaching excellence, research in injury prevention, and public service, as well as having served on many expert committees and advisory task forces. He is the founding president of the Society for Advancement of Violence and Injury Research, and a past president of the Association of Academic Chairs of Emergency Medicine. In 2011, Dr. Hargarten was elected to the Institute of Medicine (IOM), now the National Academy of Medicine (NAM) of the National Academy of Sciences and is a former member of its Global Forum on Violence Prevention. Dr. Hargarten was recently appointed to the executive committee of the Transportation Research Board of the NASEM and to the Community Preventive Services Task Force of the CDC in 2019.

Michael Levas, MD, MS, has been with the Medical College of Wisconsin's Section of Pediatric Emergency Medicine since 2011. Following graduation from the Medical College of Wisconsin, he completed his pediatric residency and emergency medicine fellowship training in Kansas City, MO. He completed his Masters in Clinical and Translational at the Medical College of Wisconsin. Since joining the faculty at the Medical College, Dr Levas has been intimately involved with health care disparities, youth violence, and injury prevention policy and research. He is the Medical Director of Project Ujima, one of the premier hospital-based youth violence prevention/intervention programs in the United States. He currently serves as Vice Chair of Diversity in the Department of Pediatrics and as the Associate Director of the Comprehensive Injury Center at the Medical College of Wisconsin.

Maureen Busalacchi is currently the Director of the Wisconsin Alcohol Policy Project (WisAPP) at the Medical College of Wisconsin Comprehensive Injury Center. She has had decades of experience in public health policy and systems change as she ran Smoke-Free Wisconsin and lead successful smoke-free air and tobacco tax campaigns. She also chaired the State Council on Alcohol and Other Drugs (SCAODA) ad-hoc committee which rolled out the report on how to reduce excessive drinking in Wisconsin earlier this year. She currently is co-chair of Wisconsin Public Health Association (WPHA) Public Affairs Committee. Maureen is a frequent presenter at state and national conferences on advocacy, systems change and public health issues. Recently, she served at the Advancing a Healthier Endowment at MCW as a program manager advising in policy and systems change applicants and over 45 grantees. She served as an advisor to the Healthy Wisconsin Leadership Institute and WI Initiative to Promote Healthy Lifestyles (WIPHL), and a mentor for the Wisconsin Women’s Policy Institute. She has served on a city council and president of her children’s PTO and neighborhood association. She lives in Madison with her husband, daughters, dogs, and a large bird.

View webinar recap (PDF)