Pen Bay Medical Center and Waldo County General Hospital have received a two-year grant of $49,696.90 from the Maine Cancer Foundation to implement the Pharmacist-Engaged Pilot. The pilot will help increase access to tobacco cessation resources for community members in Knox and Waldo counties.

The grant funds provided by the Maine Cancer Foundation will help train Pen Bay and Waldo Pharmacy team members to conduct brief tobacco cessation interventions, increase referrals to and enrollment in tobacco cessation services provided through Maine QuitLink and raise community awareness about evidence-based tobacco cessation strategies and resources.

The funding will also be used to purchase nicotine replacement therapies including patches, gum and/or lozenges to be packaged as 14-day starter kits and provided free of charge to age-qualifying individuals at three local pharmacies, including The Pharmacy at Pen Bay, Jensen’s Pharmacy in Rockland and Belfast Drug Company in Belfast. The starter kits will also be distributed at community outreach events.

Maine Cancer Foundation’s grant is offered as part of their ongoing efforts to reduce cancer incidence and mortality in Maine. They have invested more than $18 million since 2015 in support of cancer prevention, early detection and screening, and access to care for all Mainers.

To learn more about Maine Cancer Foundation, visit https://mainecancer.org/, or contact Katelyn Michaud at katelyn@mainecancer.org or 207-773-2533.

Pen Bay Medical Center

Pen Bay Medical Center is part of MaineHealth, a not-for-profit integrated health system consisting of nine local hospital systems, a comprehensive behavioral healthcare network, diagnostic services, home health agencies, and more than 1,600 employed and independent physicians working together through an Accountable Care Organization. With more than 19,000 employees, MaineHealth is the largest health system in northern New England and provides preventive care, diagnosis and treatment to 1.1 million residents in Maine and New Hampshire. For more information, please visit pbmc.org.

Waldo County General Hospital

Waldo County General Hospital is part of MaineHealth, a not-for-profit integrated health system consisting of eight local hospital systems, a comprehensive behavioral healthcare network, diagnostic services, home health agencies, and more than 1,600 employed and independent physicians working together through an Accountable Care Organization. With more than 19,000 employees, MaineHealth is the largest health system in northern New England and provides preventive care, diagnosis and treatment to 1.1 million residents in Maine and New Hampshire. For more information, please visit wcgh.org.