OSF HealthCare Achieves Impressive Tobacco Quit Rates with the Free & Clear(R) Quit For Life(T...( SEATTLE Sept. 16 /- OSF HealthCar...),Health

SEATTLE, Sept. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- OSF HealthCare is celebrating its one-year anniversary with the Free & Clear(R) Quit For Life(TM) Program with strong results. OSF HealthCare launched the Quit For Life Program in August of 2006, taking a first-step in supporting healthy lifestyles of its 13,000+ employees, as well as their eligible dependents and OSF HealthCare volunteers. "We are encouraged by the level of participation from our employees and really impressed with the employee satisfaction for the program," said Phyllis Donovan, OSF Healthcare System Corporate Human Resources Coordinator. "Our quit rate after six months ranks well above other quit rates nationally, especially the quit rate associated with quitting smoking 'cold turkey'. We are pleased to be able to support our employees in such an important health improvement program."

As of July 2007, all OSF HealthCare facilities and grounds are smoke-free environments. This includes medical centers and hospitals, provider office practice sites, home care, managed care and corporate offices, and a long-term care facility. In June 2007, just prior to the organization-wide tobacco ban, OSF saw a surge in enrollments in the Quit For Life Program.

"By offering the Quit For Life Program in conjunction with workplace tobacco-use policies, OSF has taken proactive measures to measurably improve the health of its workforce, their families and their volunteers," said Mary Kate Salley, Free & Clear's Senior Vice President of Client Services.

Free & Clear is an award-winning program based on 20 years of research and clinical experience. The program provides one-on-one telephone-based treatment sessions with a professional Free & Clear Quit Coach(TM), as well as the latest medications (e.g. patch, gum), and the only fully integrated Web Coach(TM) online portal and community. Once enrolled, participants have support available even if they quit and start using tobacco again during the treatment program
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