NCNC Provides Resources to Help Smokers Quit

A region-wide collaboration is providing resources and consultation services to health care providers to increase delivery of comprehensive, evidence-based treatment for nicotine addiction.

North Country Nicotine Consultants (NCNC) is a service administered by The Heart Network and Glens Falls Hospital with support from the state’s Health Systems for a Tobacco Free New York program. NCNC works in partnership with health care systems to develop and support the consistent and effective identification and treatment of tobacco users. Special consideration is given, but not limited to, those that serve disparate populations with low-income, low-educational attainment and/or behavioral health care needs.

“Tobacco dependance remains the leading cause of preventable death and disease nationwide,” said Arriana Patraw, The Heart Network’s new project coordinator for NCNC. “In any given year, 70 percent of tobacco users will visit a health care provider, where clinicians have the opportunity to treat tobacco use and dependency as they would any other chronic disease, with both behavioral counseling and pharmacotherapy.”

“Research shows that just three to five minutes of brief counseling can double a person’s chance of quitting nicotine,” said Ann Morgan, the Heart Network’s executive director. “With consistent follow-up counseling and pharmacotherapy, those odds increase drastically. We can’t stress enough the critical role health care providers play in helping people quit — it quite literally saves lives.”

NCNC offers a full range of free services and resources for medical and behavioral health care providers, including:

• Consultation and review of existing tobacco/nicotine treatment policies.
• Implementation assistance to support integration of evidence-based, tobacco dependence treatment services and policies across the health care system without disrupting clinical workflow.
• Performance improvement planning to support ongoing quality improvement.
• Tobacco cessation resources and materials for tobacco users.

The Heart Network is NCNC’s point of contact with health care systems in Clinton, Essex, Franklin and St. Lawrence counties. To learn more, contact Arriana Patraw at apatraw@heartnetwork.org or (518) 891-5855.