Creating a healthier environment for you

Deborah and Jack Miller feel more alive than ever since they made the decision to quit smoking, and are working together to make sure they stick to their plan.

Lancaster General is going completely smoke free on January 1, 2008, and that’s just fine with long-time smoker and Lancaster General employee Deborah Miller.

After smoking for nearly 40 years, Deborah and her husband, Jack, decided it was time to quit for good. This time, she is using Lancaster General's BreatheWell initiative as an incentive to adopt a healthier lifestyle... and stick with it.

"Cigarettes aren't going to control me anymore," Deborah says. This isn't the first time Deborah and Jack have tried to stop, but this time, with Lancaster General by their side, they are confident it's going to stick.

BreatheWell is a comprehensive tobacco-free initiative designed to improve the health of our community. A tobacco-free environment provides a healthier experience at Lancaster General for employees, patients and their families. Lancaster General will be providing tobacco cessation programs for employees who wish to quit.

Lancaster General employees like Deborah, who works in the hospital's housekeeping department, are offered one-on-one counseling, Freedom from Smoking classes, and reduced cost medications to assist them in breaking the habit. Nicotine replacement therapy will also be offered to employees for up to six months after they start their treatment to help them get through the workday.

When a Lancaster General employee is ready to quit, he or she will meet with a counselor to set goals, determine what cessation methods were tried, and what approach he or she feels comfortable using.

For Deborah and Jack, they chose to use the medication Chantix™ to help them stay smoke-free.

"It alleviates the urge to make you want to smoke," Deborah says. "It's hard to believe, but I don't even like cigarettes anymore. Lancaster General going smoke free, and supporting my efforts to quit, is a very good thing."

By Your Side. Ronna Beiler Health Educator Ronna works with smokers to help them find the best way to overcome their nicotine habit and avoid the largest preventable cause of disease and premature death in the United States. As a Freedom from Smoking program facilitator at Lancaster General, she educates tobacco users on effective methods of smoking cessation and also provides one-on-one smoking cessation counseling. “Tobacco is a very difficult addiction,” Ronna says. “I provide tools such as information, resources and support to help smokers understand their habit and work with them to change that behavior.”

With a smile, Jack adds, "Six months ago, you would not have heard those words coming out of her mouth."

But she also believes that prohibiting smoking at Lancaster General will reduce the temptation to succumb to her past addiction and light up again.

"When your friends and co-workers are still going out to smoke on breaks and now you can't join them, that's tough," Deborah admits. "Now that temptation will be taken away, and that should make the quitting process a little easier."

Health concerns also played a role in the Millers decision to quit. Jack was recently diagnosed with Type II diabetes, and Deborah has had lung and breathing difficulties throughout her life.

"What they say about adding years to your life, it's true," Jack says. But they are also adding life to their years at the same time.

"We're riding bicycles now, and doing activities we couldn't have done just a few months ago, simply because our lungs couldn't handle it," Deborah says. "But I've noticed such an improvement in my breathing. My lungs are getting better already."

Patients and the general public will also receive support from Lancaster General through the BreatheWell program. Anyone is welcome to take the Freedom from Smoking program, and smoking patients will be assessed by a counselor for appropriate nicotine replacement therapy, such as the patch, gum or lozenges.

In addition, tobacco-free counseling is offered for up to a year after a patient leaves the hospital to help them kick the habit and stay smoke-free.

No one knows the challenges of quitting more than Deborah and Jack. But they believe that if they can stop after so many years of smoking, then anyone can.

"You need strong support, and the right medication can certainly help," Deborah says. "But above all, you have to want to quit, and you have to respect yourself enough to want to help yourself get healthier.

• Lancaster General to Go Tobacco-Free in 2008
• Freedom from Smoking Classes
• Health Library: Smoking and Cardiovascular Disease
• Physician Chronicles: Steps to Take to Quit Smoking