CLEAN AIR WAVES Partnerships in Action

          Editor - Corey Wakeley

May 10th                           Safe Kids Saturday - Kadlec Medical Center, Richland

May 14th                       Battelle Wellness

May 20-21st                 Hanford Health & Safety Expo Pasco, TRAC

May 31st                         World No Tobacco Day

Community Partnerships - a Bright Idea and the Key to Success

By Corey Wakeley - Marketing Director

June 2008 will complete the 8^th year of Tobacco Free Benton-Franklin Counties (TF). Over the past 8 years, TF has become an integrated member of the Benton-Franklin landscape, partnering with a wide array of community agencies in a variety of manners.

TF was created from the collaboration of community agencies that looked ahead to the future of Benton and Franklin Counties and saw TF as the solution to combat tobacco use among its members. TF functions because of strong community partnerships, and is part of a highly effective statewide effort guided by the Washington State Department of Health’s Tobacco Prevention and Control Program. Washington State has seen a decrease of 24% fewer adults and 50% fewer youths smoking since the year 2000. The success of this statewide program hinges on partnerships as does the success of local tobacco prevention programs.  

The following is a brief overview of a few of TF’s many community partnerships: 

The Benton-Franklin Health District (BFHD) provides tobacco education and prevention to their clients through their WIC, First Steps and Safe Babies Safe Moms programs. They look to TF to provide education to staff for smoking cessation and provide materials for their clients. In addition, BFHD contracts with TF to perform tobacco compliance checks in the bi-county area. BFHD has served as part of the board of directors of TF since its inception in September 2000. 

For the past four years, Kadlec Medical Center has been in partnership with TF. Kadlec has a tobacco free campus and beginning July 1, 2008 they will implement a new policy which will enforce tobacco free employees during their work hours.  TF helped to lend their knowledge when implementing these new tobacco policies at the hospital and continues to provide cessation support for doctors and hospital personnel. 

When looking toward the future of this partnership, Kadlec hopes that by working together they can increase access to cessation programs for their employees and patients. 

The American Cancer Society’s (ACS) Mission Delivery at Columbia River Relay For Life and Franklin County Relay For Life includes tobacco prevention and education.  In the past, TF has funded team registration fees for these events and currently the partnership between TF and ACS has unfolded as TF being a corporate sponsor and participant of Mission Delivery subcommittees for both Relay For Life events. Since the inception of TF, ACS has been a board member and a valuable resource for tobacco prevention. 

The Educational Service District 123 (ESD123) offers tobacco prevention and health education resources for Prevention/Intervention Specialists, school administrators, counselors and health/PE teachers in schools throughout Benton and Franklin Counties.  The District also supports American Lung Association’s TATU (Teens Against Tobacco Use) program and other leadership building, evidence based programs and activities for all interested students. 

The ESD123 Prevention Services has been in partnership with TF for over 6 years. TF and ESD 123 are key collaborative partners in tobacco prevention/cessation work for children and adolescents in the area. ESD 123 helps to promote and recruit youth to attend community wide tobacco awareness events, and TF helps ESD 123 by supporting prevention clubs in area schools and sharing in the advocacy efforts of keeping kids tobacco free. 

The partnership between the ESD 123 and TF will continue in the future by working together on any/all activities or events where youth are provided with an opportunity to be engaged in interactive, evidence based and educational programs. 

The Finley School District has an Intervention/Prevention Specialist who works with students to provide tobacco education, prevention and cessation.  Since it’s inception, TF has supported Finley Middle and High Schools with materials and staff time to further their endeavors with tobacco prevention. Finley is looking toward a future partnership in tobacco prevention and control with participation in National Events such as Kick Butts Day and SHOUT out no tobacco day. 

TF counts the partnerships with other community agencies essential to the success of tobacco prevention and control in Benton-Franklin Counties. Tobacco use affects many lives in many different ways, if the decrease in tobacco use is going to prevail there needs to continue to be prevention and education from a variety of sources.   

As TF’s 9^th year begins, a major focus will be on nurturing the many valuable partnerships that have been cultivated, as well as cultivating new ones that will further enrich tobacco prevention and control for Benton-Franklin counties and it’s diverse community.

For more information about partnerships contact Corey Wakeley at corey@tobacco-free.net.

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