BackgroundThere is insufficient research on medical care at mass-gathering events (MGEs) on college and university campuses. Fun Day is an annual celebratory day held at Skidmore College (Saratoga Springs, New York USA), a small liberal arts college in the Northeastern United States. Fun Day is focused around an outdoor music festival; students also congregate and celebrate throughout the surrounding campus. To improve care and alleviate strain on local resources, a model was developed for the provision of emergency care by a collegiate-based, volunteer first-response service – Skidmore College Emergency Medical Services (EMS) – in coordination with a contracted, private ambulance service.Study/ObjectiveThe aims of this study were to: (1) analyze medical usage rates and case mixes at Fun Day over a four-year period, and to (2) describe the collegiate-based first response model for MGEs.MethodsData were collected retrospectively from event staff, college administrators, and Skidmore College EMS on event-related variables, patient encounters, and medical operations at Fun Day over a four-year period (2014-2017).ResultsAnnual attendance at the music festival was estimated at 2,000 individuals. Over four years, 54 patients received emergency medical care on campus on Fun Day, and 18 (33.3%) were transported to the emergency department. On-site contracted ambulances transported 77.8% of patients who were transported to the emergency department; mutual aid was requested for the other 22.2% of transports. The mean (SD) patient presentation rate (PPR) was 7.0 (SD = 1.0) per 1,000 attendees. The mean (SD) transport-to-hospital rate (TTHR) was 2.0 (SD = 1.0) per 1,000 attendees. Thirty (55.6%) patients presented with intoxication, seven (13.0%) with laceration(s), and five (9.3%) with head trauma as the primary concern. Medical command was established by volunteer undergraduate students. Up to 16 volunteer student first responders (including emergency medical technicians [EMTs]) were stationed on campus, in addition to two contracted ambulances at the Basic Life Support (BLS) and Advanced Life Support (ALS) levels. Operational strategies included: mobile first response crews, redundant communication systems, preventative education, and harm reduction.ConclusionHigh medical usage rates were observed, primarily due to alcohol/illicit substance use and traumatic injuries. The provision of emergency care by a collegiate-based first response service in coordination with a contracted, private ambulance agency serves as an innovative model for mass-gathering medical care on college and university campuses.FriedmanNMG, O’ConnorEK, MunroT, GoroffD.Mass-gathering medical care provided by a collegiate-based first response service at an annual college music festival and campus-wide celebration. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2019;34(1):98–103.

Service coordinators in a statewide early intervention program were surveyed to develop an understanding of screening and referral practices to identify children on the autism spectrum. Quantitative and qualitative data summarizing autismspecific screening and referral practices are reported. More than 50% of the respondents reported that they had never received a referral from a physician or another early intervention provider because a child has failed an autism-specific screening. While service coordinators identified that early intervention providers have a role in conducting autism-specific screening, more than 50% of the respondents indicated that they do not see autism-specific screening completed in early intervention settings. More than 80% of the respondents identified "a lack of knowledge" as the most significant barrier to autism-specific screening. Together, these findings suggest that early intervention providers may benefit from professional development that imparts knowledge, teaches skills, and addresses potential concerns of parents related to autism.

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This article focuses on the benefits and barriers to engaging students as partners in educational projects.

EPUB has emerged as the standard format for e-books due to its numerous advantages over PDF, including superior accessibility, enhanced navigation, lighter file sizes, optimization for mobile devices, and support for non-English languages, to name a few. However, there is little understanding of EPUB's advantages among end users and little appreciation for EPUB's potential in academic libraries. This paper provides a literature review and perspectives from a publisher, an aggregator, and end users (higher education library) about solutions that drive increased knowledge and use of the EPUB format for e-books in the academic library. It will summarize the reasons for EPUB's ascendance among academic publishers, explain how PDF e-books present barriers to innovation and real problems for accessibility, and argue that the scarcity of EPUB in the academic library is mostly due to a lack of awareness of its benefits. It will give librarians some ideas on how to begin integrating EPUB into research instruction, and ultimately, it will suggest that both librarians and vendors take an active role in shaping the habits and thus demands of their users.