Introducing the Staff of the Mercy Tobacco Control Program

Based in a charming little house in West Philly, the quit smoking program at Mercy Hospital has helped hundreds of smokers to kick the habit. For more than five years, the program has sponsored smoking cessation classes throughout the South, West and Northwest sections of Philadelphia. Trained counselors Kay, Cynthia and Elizabeth have some very definite opinions about the challenges smokers face in trying to quit. They also make every visitor to their program feel welcome, safe and comforted.

Counter Clockwise: Kay Stephens. Cynthia Wright. Elizabeth Byrne.

Kay Stevens, the Program Director, stopped smoking years ago when she imagined attending her daughter’s wedding in a wheelchair with a tube up her nose. “I scared myself with a vision of my future,” she says. While Kay no longer smokes, she still remembers what it takes to quit: “Smoking can play a big role in a person’s life. It affects how they behave in social situations, how they cope, even who they have as friends.”

As a former smoker, Cynthia uses herself as an example. Because she knows so much about smoking and diabetes, Cynthia leads some groups that address both of these health issues.

The Mercy team believes that teaching others to quit requires flexibility — one size does not fit all. Elizabeth, a proud new parent and a veteran of the battle against addiction, often asks her students to do the math: in addition to the risk of massive health expenses, the expense of a cigarette addiction (about $5 a pack) can add up to more than $1,800 a year.

The Mercy team knows it is hard for smokers to quit when friends and family make them feel bad about their addiction. In contrast, smokers who enroll in a Mercy class are never seen as failures. The class acts as cheerleaders. Even those who cannot quit completely are supported when they succeed in cutting back.

Says Elizabeth: “The work is all worthwhile when a former smoker comes back to see us and says, ‘Thank you for saving my life!’.”

Call the Mercy staff at 215-748-9700