COMMIT-TO-QUIT Smoking Cessation Program Returns CRMC

This week, the Respiratory Care department at Cortland Regional Medical Center will begin their  FREE program  “Commit-to-Quit” which is designed to help smokers end their addiction. Beginning Tuesday April 5, the six-week program focuses on helping smokers become “Tobacco Free for Life” through lifestyle changes. The CRMC Respiratory Care staff is committed to helping their patients achieve a higher level of wellness through this review to have greater understanding of disease process and the proper application of therapeutic treatments. The course stresses the use of evidence-based medicine and well-researched best practices.

Tobacco use remains the single largest, most common preventable cause of disease, disability and death in the United States. Over 400,000 or 1 of 5 Americans die each year from smoking related illnesses. 21.5% of the County’s residents are everyday smokers according to the Seven Valleys Health Coalition’s 2015 health and wellness report card for Cortland County In the past decade the County’s smoking rate has not changed and sits above the national average of 19% which is decrease from 19.6% in 2009. Meanwhile, for those who are suffering from drug and alcohol abuse and wants to seek treatment, visit this useful site for help. You can also trust the expertise of some professionals from American Rehabs.

Director of Respiratory Care, Bill Bilka commented on the success of the program “Success depends on the patient. For some people it takes ten tries while other people are lucky and can quit on their first try.” Bilka mentioned that participants have a greater chance of quitting if they attend all six sessions. “We see around a 30 percent success rate for the participants that attend all of the classes.” Bilka said. He further explained that it’s important to remember that one slip up does not condemn someone to failure, “Participants need to continue with the techniques that they have learned in the program to reach their goal.” To learn more, people are encouraged to read how to quit smoking and how to start behavioral health and substance abuse treatment, which provides links for useful information and tips to quit along with the ability to create a customized quit plan.

The Commit-to-Quit program is FREE and open to anyone in Cortland County. The sessions will be held at CRMC on the second floor in the 2C meeting room. Each session will run from 6pm until 7:15pm every Tuesday from April 5th to May 10th.  Participants receive a free supply of nicotine replacement therapy and are strongly encouraged to attend all six sessions to improve their chance of becoming tobacco free. To register or get more information, call CRMCs Respiratory Care department @ 607 756 3807 between 8am and 3pm Monday through Friday.