Allegheny Intermediate Unit
BUSTED!  is a teen-run, adult supported organization across Pennsylvania that empowers youth and provides them with the tools to teach their peers the truth about tobacco and the tobacco industry. Through the initiative, students from existing or newly created groups organize and promote prevention activities, including peer education and advocacy, to positively impact their school district and community. Often, these projects meet requirements for community service, leadership, or graduation projects. In addition, the BUSTED! Project Coordinator is available for marketing and prevention education sessions in the classroom. 
Contact: 
Jamie Moder

412-394-5822

Addiction Medicine Services - WPIC, UPMC
Addiction Medicine staff provides consultation, technical assistance and training for schools who are interested in implementing 100% smoke-free campuses. Policy development, SAP integration training, curriculum development and recommendations, cessation materials, educational materials and on-site training are available to area schools. Technical Assistance will be provided to Student Assistance Personnel and Student Assistance Liaisons on implementing the new PA Department of Education statistical reporting guidelines for including nicotine information in SAP reporting forms.
Contact:
Cele Fichter-DeSando

412-586-2570

 

BUDGET CASUALTY (click here for more information)

Carlow University – PA SWAT
PA SWAT is a statewide organization committed to empowering the campus community to select a tobacco free lifestyle and environment. Carlow’s award winning PA SWAT program is helping other Allegheny County campuses to start their own PA SWAT chapters. In addition, Carlow provides cessation services for faculty, students and staff and utilizes the nursing school faculty to train future healthcare professionals in the use of Clinical Practice Guidelines when counseling patients who smoke.

The Consortium for Public Education
The Consortium for Public Education assists schools in integrating the LifeSkills Training curriculum into the school culture. Using a proven method of engaging school leadership, The Consortium trains classroom teachers in the curriculum, developing teams of teachers from multiple disciplines so that students hear and experience a consistent smoking prevention message from a variety of adults within the school system. By working in this team approach, positive decision making becomes a repeated theme and focus of the entire building, not just the class lesson of a specific subject.
The LifeSkills Training program is a remarkably effective tobacco, alcohol, drug abuse, and violence prevention program for students available for elementary, middle and high school students.
Contact:
Jennifer Sethman
412-678-9215 Ext. 209

 

 

BUDGET CASUALTY (click here for more information)

Duquesne University Center for Pharmacy Care
Spirit of Health Initiative
Duquesne University Center for Pharmacy Care uses its “health van” to travel to the communities of Etna, Millvale, Lawrenceville, South Side Hilltop and Carnegie as the vehicle for increasing the capacity of wellness screening and referral services offered by the Spirit of Health Initiative to include tobacco cessation information to its clients.

 

 

Mercy Behavioral Health
Mercy Behavioral Health (MBH) provides cessation counseling services for its MH/MR/AOD consumers, internal employees, external worksites, pregnant women and women of childbearing age. MBH provides a range of cessation counseling at Mercy Main, Mercy North and the Northside Christian Health Center, Allegheny General Prenatal Clinic, Gwen’s Girls, Rosalia Center, Genesis House, Renewal Inc., Peoples Oakland the Hearing and Deaf Association and Cromisa. 
Contact:
Jerry Pilewski
412-320-2399

 

 

BUDGET CASUALTY (click here for more information)

North Hills Community Outreach
North Hills Community Outreach – Tobacco Free North conducts the American Lung Association programs: Alternative to Suspension and Not on Tobacco (N.O.T.) teen cessation for northern Allegheny County schools. Alternative to Suspension is a four-session program for teens that violate school tobacco policies; A.T.S. teaches them about their tobacco habit and encourages them to make healthier choices. N.O.T. is a ten-session cessation program for teens who want to quit. Tobacco Free North also offers assistance in planning and holding tobacco educational and prevention activities/presentations.

 

Pittsburgh STOP Program
Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic
Located at Magee - Womens Hospital of UPMC and hosted by WPIC, the STOP program provides smoking cessation and relapse prevention services for low income pregnant women in Allegheny County. The facilitators at STOP provide an individualized menu of smoking cessation/relapse prevention components geared to improving pregnancy outcomes.
Contact:
Patricia Cluss
412-647-2933

 

BUDGET CASUALTY (click here for more information)

St. Clair Hospital
St. Clair provides tobacco related health education and cessation services to residents of the South Hills. As part of its community outreach, St. Clair partners with the Spirit of Health Initiative to reach the residents of Carnegie. St. Clair utilizes Snax for Fax as a referral and education resource reaching physician practices in the South and Western parts of the county. Additionally, St. Clair provides brief help on quitting to all inpatients who are smokers.

Contact:

Sue Harshbarger

412-942-2008

 

BUDGET CASUALTY (click here for more information)

Turtle Creek Valley MH/MR
Turtle Creek Valley provides Alternative to Suspension and Not on Tobacco teen cessation for school districts in the upper Mon Valley and districts in the east and south of the county.  In addition, TCV has adapted the successful Snax for Fax program developed by UPMC McKeesport for use with school nurses.
Alternative to Suspension requires high school students who violate the tobacco policy to participate in tobacco education classes. These after school classes are held on campus. This program holds students accountable and educates them about the dangers of tobacco.
N-O-T (Not On Tobacco) is a teen cessation program. Students wanting to quit smoking can sign up for classes. The curriculum for this program includes 10 weekly sessions.
Fax for Fun is a tobacco education program for school nurses. Weekly tobacco related questions are sent. A winner is selected from the correct responses and receives a $20 gift certificate good for the purchase of educational materials.

 

BUDGET CASUALTY (click here for more information)

UPMC Mercy

UPMC Mercy implements initiatives to reduce the prevalence of chronic disease in the communities served by the hospital targeting minorities. Cessation services include outpatient group classes, individual sessions and maintenance programs. Mercy also provides inpatient education/counseling with referrals to the outpatient cessation program. Education programming includes quarterly lectures, training of all new UPMC Mercy employees and outreach to local physician practices.
Contact:
Amy Jones-Barlock
412-488-6250

 

The state budget decreased funding to Tobacco Free Allegheny by $986,733 for this fiscal year, and plans to do the same next year. Because of that reduction, funding to cessation programs at Alle Kiski Medical Center's Destination Wellness and at the Persad Center could not be renewed.

 

Make sure your state legislators know that cutting funding to prevention programs does not make sense.

Click here to find your state senator and represenative.