Advice on quitting smoking
Why is this important?
People who smoke are more likely to develop bronchitis, pneumonia, emphysema and other lung diseases. Smokers also experience more difficulty curing their pneumonia. Smoking damages the lungs and can make it hard to breathe. It is important that patients be given information on how to quit smoking before they leave the hospital. Quitting can reduce your chances of getting pneumonia again.
Smoking causes your blood vessels to become thick. Fat and plaque stick to the wall of these blood vessels, which makes it harder for blood to flow to the heart. Reduced blood flow to your heart may result in chest pain and high blood pressure and increase your heart rate.
How WellSpan Compares
Last year, York Hospital and Gettysburg Hospital treated 1,033 patients with pneumonia. The following shows the percentage of patients who were smokers and who were offered advice on how to quit.
Unit of Measurement:
Percentage
A higher score is better than a lower score.
What we are doing to improve our performance.
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WellSpan has formed a special team, known as the “Pneumonia Clinical Effectiveness Team,” to work with doctors and nurses who care for pneumonia patients at York Hospital and Gettysburg Hospital. This group meets regularly to analyze current medical literature on pneumonia and to assess WellSpan’s performance in treating it effectively. This group recommends strategies for improving treatment.
WellSpan has a dedicated Tobacco Cessation Team comprised of respiratory therapists and counselors who ask all tobacco users admitted to the hospitals if they would like to quit, and the team provides important assistance in doing so. The counselors initiate care in the hospital and provide outpatient follow-up.
Gettysburg Hospital has been 100% compliant since October 2005.
York Hospital is 100% compliant except when need exceeds available counselors. |
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