Although the College's recent establishment of the national Learning Collaborative on High-Risk Drinking has attracted national headlines, Dartmouth's C. Everett Koop Institute a small organization operating through Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center has long combatted issues regarding substance abuse. The institute combats public health challenges and addresses substance abuse treatment and prevention through various programs, including student fellowships and treatment services that incorporate the arts and humanities, Joseph O'Donnell, current Koop Senior Scholar and senior advising dean of Dartmouth Medical School, said in an interview with The Dartmouth.
The three-person Koop Institute dedicated to the legacy of former Surgeon General C. Everett Koop '37 who continues to work with students through the institute is an umbrella organization that has funded and initiated a number of events to raise awareness about public health issues, O'Donnell said. The annual Dartmouth Center on Addiction, Recovery and Education Symposium, which focuses on investigating the effects of tobacco products, was sponsored by the Koop Institute in April and ensures that DHMC is tobacco-free, O'Donnell said.
The Koop Institute frequently sponsors art programs that encourage participants to discuss the state of public health, O'Donnell said. "A Lady Alone," a Koop Institute-sponsored play about Elizabeth Blackwell the first woman to enroll in an American medical school was performed and used as a centerpiece for discussions about women in medical programs for DHMC and Dartmouth Medical School in December 2009, he said.
The institute also sponsored a play titled "Bill W. and Dr. Bob" exploring the foundation of Alcoholics Anonymous and Alcoholics Anonymous family groups this past March.
"We've been able to bring to campus some really unbelievable speakers," O'Donnell said. "Francis Collins, the director of [the National Institutes of Health] came to speak on the Human Genome Project."
Other projects have brought artists from the Hopkins Center to perform for patients at DHMC, and a patient-partners program allows first and second-year medical students to bond with a patient with a chronic disease, according to O'Donnell. One program allows medical students to visit lonely patients, while another brings students in contact with patients with cognitive problems, O'Donnell said.
"There's a real emphasis on doctor-patient relations as well as students and doctors working together," O'Donnell said.
The institute also advises Koop Scholars and Koop Scholar interns while promoting advocacy and service on campus, O'Donnell said. The formation of Koop Scholars and the Koop Scholar Interns was modeled after "Koop's Troops" young leaders of governmental agencies dealing with tobacco, alcohol and HIV who worked under Koop when he served two four-year terms as U.S. surgeon general between 1981 and 1989.
"We had a vision of Koop's Troops coming from Dartmouth," O'Donnell said. "Our institute is really interested in curbing adolescent binge drinking and substance abuse, and we're interested in [College President Jim Yong Kim's] efforts to curb binge drinking on campus, so we asked ourselves, How can we have these leaders created? How can we get the bright people at Dartmouth to become leaders in public health?'"
For three hours every week, Koop Scholar intern Kevin McNerney DMS'14 works as a youth counselor for adolescents in the Upper Valley who are struggling with substance abuse with a program known as "Second Growth" that was implemented this spring, according to McNerney.
The institute also hosts luncheons once a month to encourage substance abuse awareness and invites individuals who have impacted public health conversations on campus, McNerney said.
Jeff Millman Tu'12 delivered an address at an institute luncheon on the Green Team initiative, a student-led program operated through Student Assembly to lessen the amount of high-risk drinking on campus. Millman originally started the program, then known as the Quaker Bouncers program, at Haverford College.
Aurora Matzkin '97, a PhD candidate at the Center for Evaluative Clinical Sciences at Dartmouth who became a Koop Scholar in 2004 while she was working toward her masters degree at the College, said her experience in working with the institute helped prepare her for a forward-thinking career in public health.
The requirements for Koop Scholars have changed over the years, but scholars still meet periodically throughout each term to gain perspective on the public health field, participate in panels and receive advice from Koop, according to Matzkin.
"My favorite Koopism' is to be always thinking about the next practical step," Matzkin said. "The field of public health is so vast and you can devote your energies in many different directions that it's really important to remain focused on the next solvable problem."
Joseph Coleman '11, who has been the Koop Institute's William J. Colt Intern for a year, said the institute is in the process of expanding and redefining its mission.
"People know the name Koop but not the institute," Coleman said. "It's the opportunity to reach out and get people involved."
Coleman also said the institute has encountered various problems in the past year, including financial constraints.
"They're cutting back some programs," Coleman said. "Dr. Koop is older and can't be as active as he used to be."
The Koop Institute is also interested in preserving Koop's ideals and awarding individuals who demonstrate the values he exemplified, O'Donnell said.
"At age 94, Koop has created a legacy," O'Donnell said. "The Koop Institute is also very involved in collecting and putting together the papers and talks from [Koop's] career much like the Clinton or Bush Library."
The Koop Courage Award is presented annually at the DMS Commencement ceremony to faculty and students who have been identified as reflecting Koop's own medical philosophy. Jim Sargent, who has investigated the influence of tobacco placement in movies marketed to adolescents will receive the award this year, O'Donnell said.
