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Former UW-CTRI Student Helps Community Health Clinic Treat Patients Addicted to Tobacco Use
The UW School of Medicine and Public Health presented former UW-CTRI student Brian Hilgeman with an opportunity to help people quit smoking, and he made the most of it.
Through a program called TRIUMPH, which affords medical students the ability to work in an urban area for a six-month rotation, Hilgeman assisted the Sixteenth Street Community Health Center from October 2008 to March 2009. He figured it would be a perfect fit, given he’d volunteered there before.
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Brian Hilgeman |
This time, Hilgeman conducted a medical-chart audit for Sixteenth Street, and found:
- About 25 percent of Sixteenth Street patients smoke, which is about 5 percent higher than the national average.
- About 40 percent of Sixteenth Street patients age 46-55 smoke.
- Nearly one in five children of Sixteenth Street patients are exposed to secondhand smoke on a regular basis.
- While 45 percent of patients were asked about tobacco use, only 6 percent were given treatments to help them quit.
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Sixteenth Street staff work hard to help patients and their families live smoke free. |
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UW-CTRI Outreach Specialist Mary Balistreri has worked with the clinic for years and, about five years ago, helped them implement the 5 A’s from the Clinical Practice Guideline. Hilgeman’s chart audit highlighted areas for improvement.
“The clinic doesn’t have the staffing levels for this type of audit,” Balistreri said. “So Brian provided an essential service. He had a positive attitude, which made
everyone believe we could do something to improve the situation.”
Balistreri and Hilgeman held two informational sessions for Sixteenth Street medical staff, one at each of the clinic’s two locations. Hilgeman reported findings from his audit while Balistreri discussed treatments such as the Quit Line and how to use quit-smoking medications. Balistreri even trained three staff members to serve as tobacco-treatment “champions,” including: |
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- An asthma specialist/health educator.
- The assistant nursing director.
- A volunteer who plans to enter medical school to become a physician’s assistant.
Having dedicated champions is an important recommendation for systems change from the Guideline. Balistreri said Hilgeman’s contacts helped establish trust and rapport with the medical staff. Now Hilgeman is excited to be just a year away from graduation from medical school. |
