How To Quit Smoking Julio’s Story
Julio had been smoking since he was a teenager. At 54, he decided to finally quit after several unsuccessful attempts. He reached out to Memorial’s Smoking Cessation program and has been without smoking for months. The South Florida program based in Broward County is led by Paul Pevoroff, RN, a nurse Manager of 3 Central Observation Unit/Respiratory Therapy at Memorial Hospital Miramar, and Stephannie Braaf, an Administrative Assistant at Memorial Hospital West. The evidence that smoking cigarettes poses catastrophic health risks is irrefutable. Yet the facts aren’t always strong enough to beat addiction’s irrational pull. We need help – the right help – to quit.The cessation plans are individualized to improve the odds of success. Yet in order to customize those plans, people must first realize the root of their addiction. “We’ve learned with our training that no two people smoke the same way,” says Paul. “We understand that it takes an average of between four and seven attempts to quit smoking and stay quit.” The program began in 2013, when Candice Sareli, Chief Medical Research Officer for Memorial, asked Paul to devise an in-house process to help patients quit smoking. He created a two-part counseling model where Respiratory Therapy staff members attended training sessions to become facilitators. Paul and Stephannie also obtained advanced training through the State of Florida. The first step in the process begins in at the patient’s bedside at Memorial. Patients with a history of smoking are assigned a respiratory therapist during his or her stay to perform a cessation counseling. If that patient expresses a desire to quit, the therapist provides information with the initial counseling and a program referral.