Fort Kent~ On November 5th, Peter Sirois, Chief Executive Officer at Northern Maine Medical Center (NMMC), was informed by Sarah A. Mayberry, Program Coordinator for the Maine Tobacco-Free Hospital Network, that NMMC has been recognized at the gold level of excellence for the second consecutive year.
The Maine Tobacco-Free Hospital Network, an initiative of the Breathe Easy Coalition of Maine, recognizes hospitals each year that have worked hard to make their campus a tobacco-free environment by bestowing upon them the Maine Tobacco-Free Hospital Network Gold Star Standards of Excellence Recognition award.
According to Mayberry, “The Gold Star Standards of Excellence provide an annual opportunity for hospitals to be recognized for the work they have done to create a tobacco-free environment and to support tobacco-free lifestyles.” In order to qualify, hospitals must demonstrate evidence of compliance in the ten best practice Gold Star Standards defined by the Maine Tobacco-Free Hospital Network. Each year, the bar is raised for hospitals to be more proactive in providing education and support for smoking cessation.
According to the Breathe Easy Coalition of Maine, hospitals play a key role in seeking to optimize the health of patients and their surrounding communities. Said Mayberry, hospitals “provide key community support and are exemplary role models in health care excellence. Tobacco-free campus policies are examples of this commitment as they benefit patients, employees, visitors and the entire community.” An awards celebration will be held on Tuesday, November 10th at 10am at the Maine Hospital Association in Augusta, Maine. At the celebration, as an acknowledgement of its achievements, each hospital will be presented with a plaque.
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