FROM: Theodore O. Will, Chief Executive Officer
DATE: Aug 06, 2003
SUBJECT: Smoking Cessation Collaborative
IPRO CONTACTS:
Charles Stimler, M.D., M.P.H., Medical Director, extension 634
Marguerite Shaffer, R.N., C.P.H.Q., Senior Director, extension 634
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has placed special emphasis on the importance of smoking cessation for the Medicare population. Tobacco use is the chief avoidable cause of illness and death in the United States, and is responsible for over 430,000 deaths nationally each year. The direct annual cost of smoking to our society exceeds 50 billion dollars, with additional indirect costs due to lost productivity exceeding 47 billion dollars. CMS strongly supports providing advice and counseling regarding smoking cessation for Medicare smokers. Unfortunately, studies have shown that smoking cessation advice is frequently not provided to smokers.
IPRO has planned a major statewide initiative to assist providers of health care in the development of smoking cessation advice programs. This will include the development of a training and workshop series, educational and intervention materials, and the creation of a partnership across professional statewide organizations that share the same vision. Crucial to the success of this initiative will be the active participation of providers that want to improve their processes of care in this area. These providers should include nurses, physicians, quality managers, pharmacists, administrators, discharge planners, and others.
IPRO will host an important "kick-off" meeting for this collaborative in Syracuse, New York, Monday, September 15, 2003 at the Marx Hotel starting at 10:00 AM. Speakers will include representatives from St. Joseph's Hospital in Syracuse, New York, as well as from the Health and Hospitals Corporation (HHC) in New York City. Both organizations will be describing currently up-and-running successful inpatient-initiated smoking cessation programs that they have designed. In addition, a nationally recognized leader in physician clinical training for smoking cessation, Dr. Geoffrey Williams, will be a featured speaker. Additional sessions will be announced on the internet, at www.ipro.org. This meeting will be the first in a series designed to assist institutions and organizations to get started with their own smoking cessation program, or to improve the quality of their existing programs.
If you are interested in collaborating in IPRO's smoking cessation effort and attending this "kick-off" meeting, we ask that you register on line at www.ipro.org.
Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Marguerite Shaffer at 516-326-7767, extension 634.