At the recent Tobacco-Free Hospital Gold Star Standards of Excellence Awards Celebration, Cary Medical Center was recognized at the PLATINUM level.

This was the 10th annual Gold Star Standards of Excellence Awards and was hosted by the MaineHealth Center for Tobacco Independence’s Breathe Easy initiative.

The event recognized efforts by Maine hospitals to address tobacco use and secondhand smoke exposure and was attended by hospital and public health stakeholders from across the state.

Four individual Gold Star Champions and thirty-three hospitals were spotlighted for advancing their campus smoke and tobacco-free policies as well as promoting tobacco-free lifestyles.

For 2019, Cary Medical Center was recognized for the first time at the Platinum level after achieving Gold level recognition from 2012 to 2018. To meet the platinum level, a new level introduced for the 2018 award year, hospitals must have met all ten Gold Star Standards and include specific policy language and strategies for five additional requirements.

Kristen McAuley, Tobacco Prevention Services Director for the Center for Tobacco Independence shared with those at the celebration event, “Tobacco use remains the leading cause of preventable disease and death. We applaud these 32 Maine hospitals for their ongoing efforts to meet the Gold Star Standards of Excellence.”

Bill Flagg, Cary’s Director of Community Relations, responded, “Cary Medical Center is committed to creating healthier communities which includes the prevention and treatment of disease. This commitment means that we are dedicated to maintaining a 100% smoke and tobacco-free campus which, in turn, provides patients, visitors, staff, and volunteers with a safer, healthier environment.”

For more information about Gold Star Standards of Excellence recognition program, please visit BreatheEasyMaine.org/Gold-Star-Standards-of-Excellence.

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