Thursday June 15th The Glasser/Schoenbaum Human Services Center hosted Gulfcoast South Area Health Education Center (AHEC). GS Connects is an ongoing program offering workshops for self-care and professional development. In this workshop the focus was around the best practices for tobacco treatment. Nathan Horner, a Tobacco Cessation Specialist, presented to attending non-profits and members of the Campus of Caring team to educate and promote programs that will help the community.
Through partnership and education, AHEC continues to improve the well-being of several communities. The programs are developed with the vision of providing healthy communities where every person has access to quality care.
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention found that smoking is the leading preventable cause of mortality in the United States. An astounding 480,000 people die annually, totaling to about 1,300 deaths per day. Along with statistics, specialist Nathan Horner gave impactful visuals of the contaminants of cigarettes and signs to end use.
In the U.S, thousands of people have attempted to quit on their own and failed. The AHEC for years has provided programs and services to the community that are proven effective. Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) is one example of a single agent that effectivity helps patients through their withdrawal.
In the aftermath of Horner's presentation, several campus staff asked question to help their own clients with a desire to seek tobacco treatment. With future collaborations in the works, the GS Connects program concluded with success in an educational and informative tone.
We are grateful to Gulf Coast Community Foundation for sponsoring this series.