By: Robert Remler
It's not surprising that in addition to suffering from "WTC cough," firefighters over the last year have begun smoking more if they were smokers already (29 percent) and picking up the habit again if they had quit (23 percent).On Long Island, five representatives of the Division of Pulmonary Medicine at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset are proud to be taking part in a smoking cessation program launched this summer that will serve thousands of FDNY employees. Designed by the CHEST Foundation (the philanthropic arm of the American College of Chest Physicians), David J. Prezant, MD, deputy medical officer for the FDNY, and Matthew P. Bars, a private consultant from New Jersey, the free program is open to EMTs as well as firefighters, paramedics and their spouses.North Shore University Hospital is well qualified to take part in the FDNY smoking cessation program. Since 1999, the hospital has sponsored a highly successful free program of its own (still the only free program in Nassau County) for employees and members of the community. Due in part to the dedication of advanced practice nurses Virginia Reichert and Patricia Folan, the program has a success rate of 50 percent for all comers, contrasted with only 28 percent for similar programs nationally.While for over three years Reichert and Folan donated their time to the program, the hospital has recently approved the formation of a Tobacco Control Center. Reichert will serve as director, making the center the only one its kind in the United States run by nurse practitioners. The smoking cessation classes will continue under the center's auspices, but more ambitious goals include developing culturally diverse treatment programs, initiating clinical research and launching community tobacco prevention initiatives and educational programs highlighting the dangers of exposure to second-hand smoke. In addition to Reichert and Folan, members of the North Shore University Hospital team are Ruth Loeber, NP, Lynn Villano, NP, and Dr. Arunabh, medical advisor of the Tobacco Control Center."Our role in the FDNY program is to help them conduct the one-on-one sessions," Reichert said, "and that's a good fit for us. We feel that close, personal contact is what gives our program the edge. Every person has his or her own obstacles, so you've got to do a lot of listening. Lecturing and throwing out scary cancer statistics doesn't do it. We work with people to develop a plan to get started, and then we help them maintain their motivation along the way. We help them believe that quitting is possible."In addition to North Shore University Hospital, Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx and Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in Manhattan have been sending teams to the sessions, which are being held at FDNY headquarters in Brooklyn. Phil Mouren of Pharmacia Corporation is also on hand every week to educate participants about the proper usage of Nicotrol® nicotine replacement products, which his company is generously donating.
Ordinary people can be heroes
The American Red Cross in Nassau County (ARC/Nassau) is dedicated to helping people prevent, prepare for, and respond to emergencies by educating Long Islanders with essential life saving skills. Learn how to save a life by taking an ARC/Nassau Health and Safety course in November. Courses are taught at ARC/Nassau, 195 Willis Ave., Mineola. Call (516) 747-3500 to register. Gift certificates and first aid kits are also available which make excellent gifts during the upcoming holiday season.Adult CPR: Learn to respond to an emergency, recognize the signs and symptoms of a heart attack and how to respond to an adult who stops breathing, is choking, or whose heart has stopped beating. This approximately 4-hour course costs $40. Held Saturday, Nov. 16, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and Thursday, Nov. 21, from 6:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.Community first aid and safety: Learn how to respond to emergencies; to care for an infant child, or adult with respiratory/cardiac problems, perform CPR, how to treat medical emergencies, bandaging and basic splinting, CPR and First Aid certificates issued upon completion. This approximately 10 hour course costs $59. Held Saturday, Nov. 16 and 23, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
