Smoking Cessation Programming in Shelby County: Spotlight on Major Hospital

Judy Collins, CRT, Pulmonary Rehab Specialist and Educator in the Cardio-Pulmonary Rehab Unit at Shelbyville Major Hospital is busy, VERY BUSY. Collins is the lead facilitator for smoking cessation programming through Major Hospital and a key leader in smoking cessation for Shelby County.

“One of the main reasons why we started the Freedom from Smoking Program at Major Hospital in 1996 was so we could serve our community better, promote community health and wellness, and promote a message of well-being,” says Collins. With cardio-pulmonary disease being one of their highest admissions in the hospital, Collins and colleagues have taken steps to learn more about why this pattern is occurring. Over the last two years, Collins has worked with Smokefree Shelby County to collect information through questionnaires at the local county fair and area health fairs where they have learned that the average age many county residents begin smoking is age 12.

The Freedom from Smoking Program through Major Hospital targets anyone of any age and any income who is a smoker. Grant money through Smokefree Shelby County helps to offset program costs for persons on limited income. Enrollment in Collins’ cessation programming is usually persons who are middle aged or who are seniors. Class sizes have grown since Collins initially began working with the program from 2-3 to 12. In the last two classes that Collins has taught, 11 out of the 12 people in each class quit using tobacco. Local newspaper ads are used as one tool for promoting the program. Collins distributes program flyers and copies of the newspaper ads to local doctor offices, which also helps draw attention to her classes.

Collins uses the handouts and materials from the Freedom From Smoking Program in her classes and also has added additional handouts and perspective from her own experience as a Respiratory Therapist. She offers cessation programs in January, mid-summer, and in September for seven sessions over six weeks each year. Cost for the classes is $60, which includes materials and snacks. The people who stay with the six week cessation program all meet for a Dutch dinner two weeks after the program’s conclusion in the non-smoking area of a local restaurant as a follow-up to celebrate and report on their progress in their decision to quit.

Collins also works with various community partners to offer cessation programming. For example, she has worked with Family Services in Shelbyville to conduct their cessation programs. Previously, she worked with a local employer, Knauf, and presented a cessation program for employees on-site. Knauf provided this programming on company time around lunch hours and employees were paid for coming to class. Another local factory, which recently has gone smokefree, contacted her and she has provided them with information to help employees get help aids to quit on their own to help them stop smoking.

Collins, a dedicated smoking cessation advocate, has worked with other partners to produce a dining guide of smokefree restaurants in Shelby County as part of community education efforts during the Great American Smokeout. She proudly notes that as of January 1, 2004, all Pizza Hut employees were smokefree at work and Burger King went smokefree at the Great American Smokeout. A future goal is to get an ordinance passed for Shelby County for all restaurants to go smokefree. Other goals include continuing to work with local factories and other employers to offer cessation programming and services.

Support from nurses, doctors, and other related staff is essential, says Collins. Everyone is exposed to information in some way. “If we have someone come in to the hospital who is a smoker who indicates interest in the smoking cessation class, they are tagged to get class information. A brochure on tobacco use is included in the hospital admissions folder for distribution to everyone.” At Major Hospital, all hospital employees receive information about smoking cessation through the hospital’s e-mail system, including quit tips and classes.

For more information about the Freedom From Smoking Program at Major Hospital, contact Judy Collins at jcollins@majorhospital.com
or at 317-421-5689.

Support for the development and distribution of this newsletter is made
possible by funding from Indiana Tobacco Prevention and Cessation.