BHWELL’s 2024 Behavioral Health Tobacco Treatment awardees celebrated
LEXINGTON, Ky. (December 18, 2024) — The Behavioral Health Wellness Environments for Living and Learning’s (BH WELL) behavioral health tobacco treatment awards were presented virtually Dec. 4 at the BH WELL Tobacco Treatment Workshop: Normalizing Tobacco Treatment in Mental and Behavioral Health Settings. This year, awards honored one behavioral health organization and one individual working to make an impact in reducing tobacco burden in their community.
People living with mental and behavioral health conditions continue to use tobacco products at rates twice or more than national rates. In addition, people living with mental and behavioral health challenges who use tobacco products die 15-25 years earlier than those not living with mental and behavioral health challenges.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirms that the most prevalent causes of death among individuals living with behavioral health conditions — heart disease, cancer and lung disease — can all be caused by tobacco use. It is vital for behavioral health organizations to integrate tobacco and nicotine treatment into the recovery process for people working toward treatment and recovery from mental and substance use disorders.
BH WELL 2024 Behavioral Health Tobacco Treatment Integration Award
The BH WELL Tobacco Treatment Integration Award honors an organization that has demonstrated continued success in the tobacco treatment field and has made significant contributions in addressing tobacco related disparities for those living with mental or behavioral health challenges.
Green River District Health Department (GRDHD) received the BH WELL 2024 Tobacco Treatment Integration Award. GRDHD not only supported a community mental health center in successfully going tobacco-free and beginning to integrate tobacco treatment services within their organization but has also begun working with another behavioral health organization toward tobacco-free policy as part of their Kentucky Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Program behavioral health grant. GRDHD supports and educates local behavioral health organizations regarding evidence-based practices related to tobacco-free policy and tobacco treatment service integration.
GRDHD is located on the southern banks of the Ohio River and serves the Green River District including Daviess, Hancock, Henderson, McLean, Ohio, Union and Webster counties. Its mission is to improve quality of life by promoting, protecting and enhancing the health and well-being of the public. Its focus is to protect citizens through environmentally safe surroundings, including tobacco-free spaces. Gary Hall, a health educator at GRDHD, led the tobacco prevention and education team and was instrumental in the implementation of RiverValley Behavioral Health’s tobacco-free policy and tobacco treatment service integration.
“GRDHD has demonstrated deep commitment towards promoting the health and well-being of the public,” said BH WELL Executive Director Zim Okoli, Ph.D. “The determination of Gary Hall and others at GRDHD has led to important partnerships that are addressing the disproportionate tobacco use prevalence and associated diseases observed among people living with mental and behavioral health conditions. We are proud to partner with them in making such strides within their communities. Their award is very well deserved.”
BH WELL 2024 Behavioral Health Tobacco Treatment Impact Award
The BH WELL Behavioral Health Tobacco Treatment Impact Award honors an individual who is making an impact on their organization and/or community through behaviors that have demonstrated exceptional commitment, innovation, and success in reducing tobacco burden for themselves and others.
The recipient of the BH WELL 2024 Behavioral Health Tobacco Treatment Impact Award is Mary McLevain. McLevain is a medical records supervisor at RiverValley Behavioral Health. Her journey started by focusing on personal changes related to tobacco use. She was motivated to stop using tobacco when she became involved in RiverValley’s implementation of a smoke-free policy. The policy was enacted on Aug. 1, 2023, and Mary continues to be an advocate and champion of the policy.
Knowing the impact stopping tobacco use was making on herself and her family, she began actively creating ways to involve others in the conversation. She was interviewed by BH WELL for a series of behavioral health tobacco treatment videos, smokers still photo messages, and radio ad messages. McLevain is also bringing together smokers who want to stop or who have stopped and inviting them to walk or work out during their breaks at work rather than use tobacco products. Her journey to stop tobacco use is inspirational and continues to impact people across the Commonwealth.
“Mary has become an incredible champion for wellness within her work environment,” Okoli said. “She is one who leads by example and is driven by her deep conviction of the importance to empower others to live a healthier lifestyle. Mary is deserving of the BH WELL 2024 Behavioral Health Tobacco Treatment Impact Award because she has gone beyond personal change to effect change in others. We need many more ‘Marys’ to continue the important work of integrating tobacco-free initiatives to support well-being within mental and behavioral health treatment and recovery settings.”
Housed within the University of Kentucky College of Nursing, BH WELL exists to promote behavioral health and wellness among individuals facing behavioral health challenges. The BH WELL research team members are experts in behavioral health integration and change. They provide the essentials of mental and behavioral health support: practice, research, education, scholarship and service. For more information about the behavioral health tobacco treatment awards or BH WELL, visit our website at bhwell.uky.edu.
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