NorthShore Health Centers and the Tobacco Education and Prevention Coalition of Porter County work tirelessly to stop and prevent the use of tobacco products in Porter County and beyond. Denise Carpenter is a key part in the partnership between the two organizations—she serves as the Lead Outreach Coordinator for NorthShore and is a chair member for the coalition. Carpenter works on events in the community with NorthShore patients, contacts other coalitions in the area, and helps find ways to keep people healthy in the area.
The Tobacco Education and Prevention Coalition of Porter County educates people about the dangers of tobacco use and works to prevent future usage of tobacco products. The organization teams up with organizations like NorthShore to help patients achieve this goal.
“The coalition does a lot of education on a youth level on why you shouldn’t start smoking and things related to that. Right now, they are working on getting smoke-free air in Portage, which is nice because they are looking out for everyone’s right to breathe smoke-free air,” Carpenter said.
The partnership between NorthShore and the Tobacco Education and Prevention Coalition of Porter County helps keep the community safe.
“[Tobacco Education and Prevention Coalition of Porter County] helped NorthShore get information out to our patients through the Quitline. If our patients are tobacco users, the coalition helps get them on an easy track to try and stop using,” Carpenter said. “They work with a lot of medical facilities like Porter-Starke Services, Porter Regional Hospital, Healthlink, and all the places with access to patients who want to quit using tobacco.”
NorthShore has focused on their patients’ overall health since the beginning, and that includes tackling health problems related to tobacco usage.
“Having the Quitline in our system now, we can help people more, and get them started on quitting right away,” Carpenter said. “NorthShore and the Tobacco Coalition make for an excellent partnership to help people quit. Having a partner like them to help NorthShore patients is key to improving patients’ overall health.”
The Tobacco Education and Prevention Coalition helps NorthShore patients and people that use other clinics.
“They partner with other healthcare facilities and community agents to reach out to communities to educate about tobacco use and prevent future use. They are doing an excellent job,” Carpenter said. “NorthShore and the Tobacco Coalition are both set on helping the community.”
Partnerships like this help keep the community positive and healthy. Both organizations focus on improving the quality of life in their community and beyond.
For more information on NorthShore Health Centers, visit their website. To find out more about the Tobacco Education and Prevention Coalition of Porter County, visit their website.
