Full steam ahead: Creating successful tobacco policy at a Naval hospital

As more hospitals adopt tobacco-free campus policies, guidelines at military hospitals are lagging. Few civilian public health professionals are trained to work with the complex systems of the Armed Forces of the United States to change institutional tobacco policy. Motivated by the challenge set forth by the Surgeon General of the United States Navy to lead the way to a fitter and healthier force by creating a tobacco free culture, efforts to change the tobacco policy at the hospital on one of the world's largest Marine Corps bases were put into motion. The efforts at Naval Hospital Twentynine Palms (located on Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center - Twentynine Palms in California) resulted in the hospital adopting a revolutionary comprehensive policy that will lead the way for other military communities throughout the country. This session will highlight the extraordinary efforts of military and civilian partners in their groundbreaking hospital policy work. Participants will gain transferable information that can be used in local civilian and/or military communities to change institutional policies and promote tobacco-free lifestyles.