Commitment, health coach help UI couple curb smoking

	Kelly Bridenstine, a smoker for nearly 27 years, is kicking the habit with help from a health coach from UI Wellness. Photo by Tom Jorgensen.

Since July 1, smoking has been banned on the University of Iowa campus under the Smoke-Free Air Act. In response to this environmental policy change, many faculty and staff at the University have decided to try to kick the habit.

Kelly Bridenstine, who works in the Center for Diversity & Enrichment, and her husband, Jerry, who works in Parking and Transportation, are both meeting with a UI Wellness health coach to assist them in becoming smoke free.

“The University going smoke free was a big part of my decision, but I have thought about quitting for a while,” says Kelly Bridenstine, who has been a smoker for nearly 27 years and has not made serious cessation efforts in the past. “The campus ban on smoking made my husband commit to quitting, so we’ve been doing this together.”

The Bridenstines met with UI Wellness health coach Carla Melby-Oetken once per week for four weeks. “She has been a big help—anytime you set a goal and have a ‘check person’ to meet with, it makes you determined to succeed,” Bridenstine says. “Carla has been helpful with ideas to control the urge to smoke, and she pushes us to reward ourselves for a job well done.”

To ward off the temptation to smoke, Bridenstine takes walks during her work breaks—times that she says she used to spend smoking. She adds that her husband ate suckers to help break the smoking habit, but soon switched to flavored toothpicks to avoid added calories.

It helps that the Bridenstines have each other to serve as motivators.

“We ride back and forth to work together, and we spend lunchtime with each other—doing this together was a must,” Bridenstine says. “It is helpful to have someone close to you who understands what you are going through.”

The couple also used to their advantage a perk from UI Wellness: when working in conjunction with a health coach, UI employees can receive reimbursement for receipts totaling up to $300 for nicotine replacement therapy or other smoking cessation medications.

“We want to eliminate cost as a barrier to stopping smoking,” says UI Wellness coordinator Megan Moeller.

The health coach service usually consists of about five visits in person or over the phone, with some additional follow-up one month and three months after the formal coaching relationship has ended.

“Stopping tobacco use is extremely challenging, like any major lifestyle change,” Moeller says. “Our health coaches work with people on a case-by-case basis to determine the best plan to help them quit.”

The best plan hinges on a variety of factors.

“Some people have a great support system at work and home, so they may not need to connect with their health coach as often,” Moeller says. “Someone else may have very low confidence in his or her ability to quit, therefore we may meet with that person more often.”

Bridenstine wouldn’t hesitate to recommend the health coach service to her fellow UI colleagues.

“I used to be upset about the campus smoking ban, but to the University’s credit, it is helping those who want to quit,” she says. “I am proud and happy to say I am on my way to being a nonsmoker for life.”

Melby-Oetken shares Bridenstine’s confidence.

“In our health coach visits, we reinforce all of the positive outcomes of quitting, as well as addressing the importance of maintaining an awareness of the situations that can lead to relapses,” Melby-Oetken says. “The benefits to quitting smoking are powerful motivators to continue the cessation program.”

by Christopher Clair