Marshfield Medical Center, Marshfield, 2023 Community Benefits

Place of Last Drink Program Brings Change

Place of Last Drink (POLD) is a database that identifies patterns of overserving through data collected during Operating While Intoxicated (OWI) stops. Through the Marshfield Area Coalition for Youth (MACY) and in conjunction with the Sober Truth on Underage Drinking (STOP) grant administered through Marshfield Clinic Health System, data has been collected for almost three years.
 
The strong partnership with the Marshfield Police Department has made this program a success. Every six months data is analyzed, and reports are made to identify Class B alcohol licenses (mostly bars and restaurants) who have been identified as a place of last drink during an OWI stop. When a licensee has been identified, follow up is done based upon the number of times they were named in the POLD data. These licensees receive a letter, POLD report for their specific establishment, and educational handouts as needed. If additional follow up is needed for licensees that were named four or more times in a six-month period, an officer from the Marshfield Police Department contacts and sets up a meeting with the owner in person.
 
In 2022, the program expanded to a county-wide effort. This expansion has allowed a broader impact to address overserving and excessive alcohol intoxication. Wood County efforts have been recognized at a state level. Marshfield Clinic staff continue to lead and coordinate efforts by sharing local resources with numerous partners throughout the state and presenting at various conferences to share with the others the successes they have been seeing through this county-wide collaborative.