Providing help and creating hope in Maine
One of 44 Health Organizations Celebrated for Leadership through Annual Gold Star Standards of Excellence Program
Portland, Maine -The annual Gold Star Standards of Excellence Program Awardees have been announced for 2024. The program of the MaineHealth Center for Tobacco Independence’s Breathe Easy Initiative recognized forty-four hospitals, healthcare organizations, higher education organizations, behavioral health organizations, and four individual Gold Star Champions for efforts to address tobacco use and secondhand smoke exposure. Celebrated organizations received a plaque for their achievements in advancing their campus smoke- and tobacco-free policies as well as promoting tobacco-free lifestyles. Catholic Charities Maine’s (CCM) Behavioral Health Network’s Portland office at 420 Cumberland Avenue was recognized for meeting the highest standard – Platinum Level.
“Participating in MaineHealth Center’s “Breathe Easy” Excellence Standards through this past year has been a terrific opportunity to bring a higher level of care to individuals enrolled in our Behavioral Health Network Programs. Achieving this highest-level standard demonstrates our team’s commitment to maintaining a healthy work and care environment. Providing individualized and group support and a care plan of alternatives to tobacco use, are two of many steps we are taking to ensure the overall emotional and physical health of everyone involved in our work.” Kelly L. Butler, MA, LCPC, LADC, CCS Director of Catholic Charities Maine’s Southern Region Behavioral Health Network, said.
All Maine behavioral health organizations, hospitals, higher education organizations and healthcare organizations were encouraged to apply for recognition. Organizations are recognized at the Platinum, Gold, Silver, and Bronze levels are based on best practice criteria such as a smoke- and tobacco-free campus policy, annual screening for tobacco use, referral to tobacco treatment and supporting employee education related to tobacco treatment.
“We applaud the ongoing efforts of Maine hospitals, healthcare, higher education, and behavioral health organizations to address tobacco use, secondhand smoke exposure and nicotine dependence by meeting the Gold Star Standards of Excellence,” says Sarah Rines, Senior Program Manager for the Center for Tobacco Independence. She continued, “Advice and assistance from healthcare providers are powerful tools to help individuals to quit tobacco products; these awardees are taking key steps to support their patients, clients, and communities.”
For more information about the Gold Star Standards of Excellence, please visit BreatheEasyMaine.org/GSSE.
The Breathe Easy Initiative at the MaineHealth Center for Tobacco Independence is dedicated to providing Maine’s hospitals with the information and resources needed to make all organizations smoke- and tobacco-free. Learn more at BreatheEasyMaine.org. This initiative is supported through a grant from the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Department of Health and Human Services.
2024 Gold Star Standards of Excellence Awardees For more information about the Gold Star Standards of Excellence, please visit BreatheEasyMaine.org/GSSE.
The Breathe Easy Initiative at the MaineHealth Center for Tobacco Independence is dedicated to providing Maine’s hospitals with the information and resources needed to make all organizations smoke- and tobacco-free. Learn more at BreatheEasyMaine.org. This initiative is supported through a grant from the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Department of Health and Human Services.
© 2024 Catholic Charities Maine
