Tobacco-Free Behavioral Health Forums

Addressing Tobacco in the Substance Abuse Treatment Setting
The Tobacco-Free Behavioral Health Forums began in May 2008 with an initial workshop designed to support behavioral healthcare providers in understanding nicotine as an addictive drug and the importance in addressing tobacco and secondhand smoke in the mental health and substance abuse treatment settings.  The value of offering a series of forums for providers to interact with their peers and learn from those who've implemented programs and policies was strongly reinforced by those in attendance at the May workshop.  A core workgroup made up of representatives from the Jefferson County Department of Health and Environment's Tobacco Prevention Team, Exempla West Pines, Denver Public Health, Jefferson Center for Mental Health and Signal Behavioral Health met to design a structure, approach and plan for ongoing Forums modeled after the highly successful Tobacco-Free Hospital Forums.  This group continues to serve as an advisory group for the Tobacco-Free Behavioral Health Forums.

Providers of mental health services are encouraged to contact the University of Colorado's Department of Psychiatry for information about forums for mental health providers and to access the toolkit at: http://www.cdhs.state.co.us/dmh/PDFs/Quit_MHToolkit.pdf
 
About the Forums and this Web page
We believe strongly that the content and process of the Tobacco-Free Behavioral Health Forums be driven by the specific needs of those who attend.  The Forums should also provide an environment where resources and best practices can be shared to better serve these health disparities communities.  This web page serves as a repository of information related to the Forums and our hope is that it will assist Forum participants and new viewers in reviewing the Forums' topics and serve as a clearing house for the latest information about addressing tobacco in the substance abuse treatment setting.

If you would like more information about previous or upcoming Forums or have a technical assistance need in the area of tobacco and substance abuse treatment, please don't hesitate to contact Ed Ellis at the Jefferson County Public Health at: ejellis@jeffco.us or 303-275-7565.

Next Forum:

The next forum will be held in the fall.  Please watch the website for more information.

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Last Modified: Aug 12, 2009 03:54 PM