This weekend, there was a lot of uncertainty surrounding State Patty’s Day and whether it would be as hyped as it had been in previous years.
It certainly appeared that way from walking downtown, and now the numbers are starting to back it up.
The Centre LifeLink EMS received 75 calls from 6 p.m. on Friday through 6 a.m. on Sunday, the highest number of calls responded to on State Patty’s Weekend since 2013. A total of 46 of those calls were alcohol-related, meaning injuries suffered or “overdoses” on alcohol, and 43 of those 46 resulted in a ride to Mt. Nittany Medical Center.
EMS was called 72 times over State Patty’s Weekend in 2013, 50 times in 2014, and 49 times in 2015. Last year, 32 of the 49 calls were alcohol-related.
According to LifeLink, EMS had two extra ambulances on call throughout the weekend to ensure it had enough staff members to handle any emergency throughout the weekend. It said that the call numbers were extremely similar “to a larger home football weekend.”
