Tobacco Control Services Provider

NEWS RELEASE

DATE: May 31, 2019
FOR RELEASE: Immediately
CONTACT: Sherri Stayer, Executive Director, Lung Disease Foundation of Central PA
Phone: 814.946.2845
Email: sherris@lungspecialists.com

Lung Disease Foundation and Lakemont Park Partner on “Young Lungs at Play” Program

Altoona, PA: Sherri Stayer, Executive Director of the Lung Disease Foundation of Central Pennsylvania, delivers the new “Young Lungs At Play” signs to Lakemont Park.

The Lung Disease Foundation of Central Pennsylvania has entered into an agreement with Lakemont Park to supply them with “Young Lungs at Play” signs which designates them as a tobacco free park. The new partnership is made possible by the Tobacco Control Service Provider Grant, which covers the costs of the signs.

Sherri Stayer, Executive Director of the Lung Disease Foundation of Central Pennsylvania, the designated Tobacco Control Service Provider for Blair and Bedford Counties, brought the signs to Lakemont Park for their staff to install. Stayer said, “We are very happy to have Lakemont Park become our newest partner as a ‘Young Lungs at Play’ facility. Once they contacted us, we acted quickly to have the signs to Lakemont Park in time for their 2019 season opening.”

Melissa Vyborny, General Manager of Lakemont Park, shared that the new signs fit perfectly with the park’s new playground area. “We want everyone to know that Lakemont Park is now a no smoking, no vaping facility,” said Vyborny. “Our free admission park provides everyone the ability to come to the park and enjoy all the new features including the PA WalkWorks 1.25-mile walking trail. The new ‘Young Lungs At Play’ signs will help remind our park guests about the importance of healthy living.”

According to Stayer, any privately or municipality owned park or playground may apply for the signs as long as they provide a copy of their policy stating they are smoke-free, tobacco-free, and preferably, vaping-free. ‘Young Lungs at Play’ is a program aimed to help communities create tobacco-free parks, playgrounds, and recreational areas for children. This will help to prevent secondhand smoke exposure and promote healthy areas for physical activity. We hope additional park and playground representatives will contact us for ‘Young Lungs at Play’ signs,” said Stayer. 

For more information on the ‘Young Lungs at Play’ and the Foundation, please contact Sherri Stayer, Executive Director, at 814-946-2845, ext. 200 or email her at sherris@altoonalungspecialists.com.

The Lung Disease Foundation of Central Pennsylvania, a 501(c) (3) nonprofit foundation founded by Dr. George M. Zlupko, is located at the Lung Disease Center of Central Pennsylvania, 800 Chestnut Avenue, Altoona, PA along with the Altoona Lung Specialists and the Sleep Disorder Network.

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NEWS RELEASE

DATE: August 1, 2018
FOR RELEASE: Immediately
CONTACT: Sherri Stayer, Executive Director, Lung Disease Foundation of Central PA
Phone: 814.946.2845
Email: sherris@lungspecialists.com

Lung Disease Foundation Adds Bedford Office

Bedford, PA: The Lung Disease Foundation of Central PA (LDF) has opened a second office in the Bedford County Chamber of Commerce’s Building at 203 South Juliana Street, Bedford, PA. Along with their additional office space, the LDF has access to the Chamber’s meeting rooms to hold their Freedom From Smoking and Adult Cessations Program.

According to Sherri Stayer, Executive Director of the LDF, the free program is designed specifically for adults who want to quit smoking. “We have had great success with the classes in Blair County and look forward to working with the Bedford County community to increase the number of individuals who quit using tobacco products,” said Stayer. “We have hired staff who will be working with area businesses, organizations and individuals in achieving their smokefree goals including workplaces and housing units.

Youth will also be a focus of this initiative through the TRU (Tobacco Resistance Unit) Program and TATU (Teens Against Tobacco Use) Program. “We will also be offering Tobacco Prevention Education to youth through schools, youth organizations, clubs, and religious groups,” shared Stayer.

A ribbon cutting, and open house is being held on August 8, 2018 beginning at 11:30 a.m. “We are thrilled to have the Lung Disease Foundation opening an office in the Russell House; and equally pleased that their Bedford County office will mean the creation of a new job,” shared Kellie Goodman Shaffer, President CEO of the Bedford County Chamber of Commerce. “We look forward to our continued partnership with this Chamber member by providing services to their team and the community. We are excited about the opportunities to lease additional office spaces to further contribute to the economic growth of our region.”

Freedom From Smoking Program is managed by the Pennsylvania Alliance Control Tobacco (PACT) and the American Lung Association in Pennsylvania. The Lung Disease Foundation of Central PA is designated the Tobacco Control Service Provider for Blair and Bedford Counties through the American Lung Association in Pennsylvania. For more information visit their website at https://lungdiseasefoundation.org/freedom-from-smoking/ or call Sherri Stayer at 814.946.2845 or email at sherris@altoonalungspecialists.com.

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NEWS RELEASE

DATE: August 1, 2018
FOR RELEASE: Immediately
CONTACT: Sherri Stayer, Executive Director, Lung Disease Foundation of Central PA
Phone: 814.946.2845
Email: sherris@lungspecialists.com

Lung Disease Foundation of Central PA Awards Three TRU Grants

Altoona, PA: The Lung Disease Foundation of Central PA Inc. is pleased to announce that in June of 2018 they awarded three grants to Blair County non-profit organizations who work with youth to form Tobacco Resistance Unit (TRU) Groups. This initiative was funded through a grant from the American Lung Association funded by the Pennsylvania Department of Health.

The grant recipients include Joshua House granted $5,000, Blair Regional YMCA granted $4,000, and Family Services, Inc. granted $2,000. Each of the grant recipients will design and implement programs to fulfill the TRU mission with goals to include the formation of a TRU Group with a specific number of participants aligned with the amount of the grants awarded, planning a TRU event, and attendance at the Day at the Capitol next spring.

TRU is a movement throughout all of Pennsylvania to help youth, ages 12 to 18, stay tobacco and nicotine free. TRU aims to prevent and stop youth tobacco use through education. The objectives are:

• Recruit youth for TRU throughout local community-based organizations and schools
• Support TRU youth-led activities and/or TRU Storms in services statewide

According to Jim Kilmartin, of the Joshua House in Tyrone, PA, they will use their grant to work with kids in their after-school program. “We’re excited to work with the Lung Disease Foundation to educate and equip the youth in our community with information on how tobacco and smoking affects kids and families,” said Kilmartin. “We want to give them knowledge on why smoking is not good, is not healthy, and how to make good decisions in their lives. Our goal is to have a minimum of 15 TRU Group Participants.”

Frank Kopriva, of Blair Regional YMCA, in Hollidaysburg, PA, is planning to start their 12 minimum TRU Group participants this fall to coincide with the beginning of the new school year. Kopriva shared, “We’ll be using the grant to produce recruitment material to encourage kids to participate in the new TRU Group which will be coordinated with our After School Program. We believe this initiative is a first for the Hollidaysburg area.”

Lisa Hann, of Family Services, Inc., in Altoona, PA, shared that they will be utilizing their grant to form a TRU Group at their Teen Center in Altoona with a minimum of 6 participants. “Our goal is to educate the kids and have them impact their families,” said Hann.” Lots of the kids are not smokers but have family members who are smokers. We’re hoping this will have a positive effect on the entire family.” To accomplish their goal, they will be assigning a student intern to help plan meetings hosted at the Teen Center where the kids will be engaged in learning about tobacco issues through games and give-a-ways.

All three groups will participate in the 2019 “Day at the Capital” to be held in Harrisburg, PA. Each year, hundreds of TRU members from across Pennsylvania rally together at this event with adult lung health advocates to speak with their lawmakers about current tobacco control issues, such as Tobacco 21 (T21).

Dr. George M. Zlupko, Founder of the Lung Disease Foundation of Central PA, believes the TRU program is extremely important to help prevent youth from ever starting to use tobacco, and help those who do smoke to quit. “We are honored to be part of TRU’s vision for all Pennsylvania youth to be tobacco free,” commented Zlupko. “The Lung Disease Foundation of Central PA is proud to be an active member of the Central PA community.”

TRU is managed by the Pennsylvania Alliance Control Tobacco (PACT) and the American Lung Association in Pennsylvania. The Lung Disease Foundation of Central PA is designated the Tobacco Control Service Provider for Blair and Bedford Counties through the American Lung Association in Pennsylvania. For more information on the TRU Grants and other tobacco control programs, call Sherri Stayer at 814.946.2845 or email at sherris@altoonalungspecialists.com.

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October of 2016 brought a new endeavor to the Lung Disease Foundation of Central Pennsylvania. The Foundation was named Tobacco Control Service Provider for Blair and Bedford Counties.

The focus of the Tobacco Control Service Provider Grant is as follows:

PREVENTION – Both Adults and Youth are the focus of this initiative through theTRU (Tobacco Resistance Unit) PROGRAM and TATU (Teens Against Tobacco Use)

PROGRAM – Tobacco Prevention Education. The TRU and TATU Programs are geared toward Youth, and we are also able to offer Tobacco Prevention Education to both Youth through schools, youth organizations, clubs, religious youth groups, etc. and Adults via Health Fairs, presentations to organizations and at employer sponsored events.

PROMOTE QUITTING – Adults and Youth are also the focus of these initiatives, including the Freedom From Smoking and Adult Cessation Program, PA Free Quitline, FAX to Quit, and the N-O-T (Not on Tobacco) Teen Cessation Program. Many of these programs are free of charge and offer the tools necessary to assist in the effort to quit tobacco use.

ELIMINATE EXPOSURE TO SECONDHAND SMOKE – Some of the initiatives and tools we are able to assist with include Young Lungs at Play (Play grounds and recreational areas); Worksite Policy (Creation or strengthening of policies for worksites); and Multi-Unit Housing (Creation or strengthening of policies for those who operate multi-unit housing).

The Grant encourages communication with local legislators to educate them on these initiatives and advocate for tobacco-related initiatives and issues in our communities. There are also initiatives geared toward identifying and eliminating tobacco-related disparities.

We are looking forward to undertaking these efforts and feel that this Grant is a perfect fit with the Mission and Vision of the Lung Disease Foundation of Central Pennsylvania.

Please contact Sherri L. Stayer, Executive Director of the Lung Disease Foundation for more information on any of the above initiatives. Sherri can be reached at 814-946-2845 x 200 or sherris@altoonalungspecialists.com.