By Amanda Whisher, Quality Program Coordinator
The University of Vermont Health Network
Elizabethtown Community Hospital
Elizabethtown Community Hospital, part of the UVM Health Network, always strives to respond to personal healthcare issues when they arise. We’re committed to working with providers, patients and community-based organizations to help people get — and stay — healthy. With this in mind, we commend Essex County Mental Health (ECMH) for prioritizing nicotine cessation programs and training staff to help people quit smoking.
Since 2014, ECMH has worked with The Heart Network, North Country Nicotine Consultants and other partners to decrease the adult smoking rate in our county. Most recently, ECMH’s Terri Morse has led the charge against tobacco use, promoting nicotine cessation in behavioral health settings by passing a comprehensive tobacco dependence treatment policy and by appointing Sue Allot as a lead for tobacco cessation efforts. Last year, Allot was trained as a certified tobacco treatment specialist; with these credentials, she can now provide evidence-based interventions for people with tobacco dependence through assessments and referrals, treatment planning and counseling.
Smoking remains the leading cause of preventable death in our country. It leads to a cadre of chronic conditions and hardships for patients and their families, by working with smokers to help them quit, we not only improve personal health outcomes, but also decrease the already immense strain on providers and healthcare systems.
Elizabethtown Community Hospital and its partners are pleased to see the Essex County Health Department and county supervisors acknowledge ECMH for its commitment to helping people quit smoking. They are setting a strong example for other organizations to follow.
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