Medical Center Sees Dozens of Alcohol-Related Cases on State Patty’s Weekend

Mount Nittany Medical Center handled 69 alcohol-related cases in its emergency room over the State Patty’s Day weekend, the medical center reported Monday.

The total includes all emergency alcohol-related medical cases logged Friday, Saturday and Sunday. They reflect nearly 13 percent of all cases seen in the Mount Nittany ER over the weekend, according to data released by the medical center.

Thirteen of the alcohol-related cases were seen Friday; 34, Saturday; and 22, Sunday.

It was not immediately clear whether the numbers reflect an uptick from last year’s State Patty’s Day weekend figures at the ER. The student-created drinking holiday in State College, celebrated primarily on Saturday, is in its fifth year.

The revelry also added to usage of the Centre Area Transportation Authority buses, according to CATA. Passenger trips on CATA buses numbered more than 37,000 on Saturday. The average for a weekday during the academic year is 32,000.

By Sunday morning, the downtown was, ‘for lack of a better phrase, trashed,’ said Jody Alessandrine, executive director of the Downtown State College Improvement District. Vandalism to buildings was relatively light, but trash was strewn on and along many streets, observers said.

‘It was probably on par with last year with respect to clean-up,’ Alessandrine said. ‘Not a lot more or a lot less. … The biggest mess was obviously around Canyon Pizza (at Locust Lane and East Beaver Avenue) and the student housing in that area.’

As of Monday afternoon, Penn State and State College police were expected to release soon a thorough statistical overview of calls from the weekend. StateCollege.com will post additional information as it becomes available.

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