Northern Lakes CMH Going Tobacco-Free: Public Forums Slated June 6, 12, 18

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A series of public forums is planned at Northern Lakes Community Mental Health (CMH) to discuss plans to move to tobacco-free campuses in all its office locations.

A forum will be held the morning of Friday, June 6 in Houghton Lake (2715 S. Townline Rd.) from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. and in the afternoon in Grayling, from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. On Thursday, June 12 there will be three forums in Cadillac (527 Cobbs St.), 9:00 to 10:00 a.m., 11:00 a.m. to noon, and 2:00 to 3:00 p.m.  On Wednesday, June 18, there will be forums in Traverse City (105 Hall St.), 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. and 3:00 to 4:00 p.m.

The public is invited to attend to learn about the changes and share any concerns.

Greg Paffhouse, Chief Executive Officer, said, “As a healthcare provider, Northern Lakes CMH is committed to improving the health and quality of life of the people we serve, our co-workers, and others who visit our offices. By becoming completely tobacco-free, we recognize that tobacco use is the number one cause of preventable disease in our community. Having a tobacco-free campus is important because it encourages people to adopt a healthier tobacco-free lifestyle and protects people from the hazards of secondhand smoke. Just as our community hospitals have done, the Northern Lakes CMH facilities and grounds will be environments that set an example for healthy behavior and promote a healthy community.”

Support for the change is being made possible by a Community Transformation Grant of the American Lung Association in Michigan and Northern Lakes Community Mental Health. The grant comes from the American Lung Association National Office’s Expanding Smokefree Communities, Community Transformation Grants (CTG) program. The project was one of five chosen this year from all over the country, to receive funding through the CTG program, and it was the only project to focus on people with mental illness. The funds were provided to the American Lung Association by the National Dissemination and Support Initiative of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention’s CTG program, which was designed to accelerate the spread and reach of projects proven to reduce chronic diseases.