Hospitals Helping Patients Quit (HHPQ), an initiative of the Oklahoma Hospital Association (OHA) and program of the Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust (TSET), recently recognized nine hospital and clinic partners that have achieved notable benchmarks in reducing tobacco use in Oklahoma.
These leaders have made a critical commitment to their patients, employees, and communities to reduce Oklahoma’s leading cause of preventable death, tobacco use and related illness. The visionary hospitals and clinics recognized have implemented a permanent and standard best-practice protocol for identifying, counseling and referring individuals to the Oklahoma Tobacco Helpline (OTH) for coaching support and nicotine replacement therapy.
OHA celebrates these leaders for achieving notable benchmarks in clinical tobacco treatment: * AllianceHealth Ponca City – 350 Helpline Referrals * Duncan Regional Hospital – 700 Helpline Referrals * Integris Affiliated Clinics – 4200 Helpline Referrals * Integris Grove Hospital – 600 Helpline Referrals * Mercy Hospital Ada – 200 Helpline Referrals * Mercy Hospital Ardmore – 450 Helpline Referrals * Purcell Municipal Hospital – 180 Helpline Referrals * SSM Health St. Anthony Healthplex South – 550 Helpline Referrals * Stillwater Medical Center – 300 Helpline Referrals
Through effective, health care provider-driven tobacco treatment services, HHPQ partner hospitals and clinics have referred more than 36,000 patients to the OTH resulting in an estimated 25,300 years of life saved and millions of dollars in reduced health care costs as well as personal spending on tobacco products.
The Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust (TSET) supports OHA’s Hospital Helping Patients Quit and the Oklahoma Tobacco Helpline. For more information on the HHPQ initiative, go to www.okoha.com/hhpq. For information on the Oklahoma Tobacco Helpline, see http://okhelpline.com.