A pharmacy student is trying to fill a need for uninsured Akron-area residents who want help kicking the smoking habit.
Sarah Kelling, a fourth-year student at the Northeast Ohio Medical University (Neomed) pharmacy college in Rootstown Township, developed a smoking cessation program at the OPEN M Free Medical Clinic in Akron.
Through the initiative, patients who want to quit smoking get counseling and access to free nicotine-replacement gum, lozenges or patches that have been donated by several pharmacies.
About 30 patients have participated in the program since it started several months ago, said Kelling of Cuyahoga Falls.
Kelling said she got the idea for the smoking-cessation program while volunteering on Thursday evenings in the clinic, which provides free medical care and medications to uninsured Summit County residents.
“I’ve always thought giving back to the community was important,” said Kelling, who is also studying public health at Neomed.
About 22 percent of Summit County adults smoke, according to the most recent County Health Rankings released last year by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute.
Smoking is more prevalent among people with less education and those who live in poverty, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“I was able to see in the clinic we have quite a few patients who use tobacco,” Kelling said.
Kim Beck, 54, of Akron was among the first patients to sign up for the free smoking cessation program.
Beck works part-time positions at a retail store and as a substitute teacher — neither of which provides health insurance.
She said the program gave her the support she needed to quit her pack-a-day habit.
“I really appreciate the program so much,” she said. “I had tried a lot of times to just cut the cigarettes back but the nicotine got to me.”
Kelling worked with Tim Ulbrich, an assistant professor in the Department of Pharmacy Practice at Neomed, to develop the program’s curriculum.
She then recruited fellow pharmacy students to provide the initial one-on-one counseling sessions with patients, as well as follow-up phone calls to offer support. The students help patients determine barriers to quitting, activities that can replace smoking and steps to take before quitting.
“The more patients have contact with health-care professionals, the more likely they are to quit,” she said. “Statistically, it takes about seven serious attempts at quitting before someone quits smoking.”
Kelling also obtained donations for over-the-counter nicotine-replacement products from Sand Run Pharmacy in Akron, Klein’s Pharmacy in Cuyahoga Falls, Shrivers Pharmacy in southeastern Ohio and Giant Eagle.
In addition, the pharmacy students can find patient-assistance programs if a clinic doctor prescribes medications to help patients quit smoking, she said.
For Beck, the counseling and free nicotine-replacement gum provided through the program have helped her remain smoke-free since Sept. 27 after decades of smoking.
“The idea of having a cigarette now is really not appealing to me at all,” she said.
For more information about the OPEN M smoking cessation program or to make a donation to the initiative, call 330-434-0110.
Cheryl Powell can be reached at 330-996-3902 or chpowell@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow Powell on Twitter at twitter.com/abjcherylpowell.
