Ochsner Health and Chevron partner for a third consecutive year to offer smoking cessation and education program

NEW ORLEANS, La. – Chevron and Ochsner Health continue to offer their Lung Cancer Awareness, Education and Prevention Program for a third consecutive year thanks to a $50,000 donation from Chevron. The program will be offered in Jefferson Parish for the first time and continue to reach community members in St. Tammany, East Baton Rouge, West Baton Rouge, Ascension, St. Charles, Terrebonne, and Lafourche parishes.

Ochsner Health and Chevron formed a key partnership for the Lung Cancer Awareness, Education and Prevention Program to improve lung health and overall wellness. This critical initiative launched in November 2021 in St. Tammany Parish. Since then, the two organizations have worked together to improve resources and education around smoking cessation and overall lung health.

“We are grateful to partner with Chevron on this critical program for a third year,” said Leonardo Seoane, MD, executive vice president and chief academic officer, Ochsner Health. “With their support, we plan to continue to draw attention to the dangers of tobacco use, including smoking and vaping, while working to lower smoking rates in Louisiana, thereby empowering our community members with the resources to make healthier choices.”

Each year, 7,200 adults die from smoking-related illnesses in Louisiana alone, while smoking is responsible for more than 480,000 deaths each year in the United States. Cigarette smoking is the leading cause of preventable deaths and diseases in the nation.

As part of the Lung Cancer Awareness, Education and Prevention Program, a public service announcement will air on television throughout communities within the program locations.

It will highlight the story of Caitlin Hunter, a Chevron employee and Northshore native who lost two family members to lung cancer.

Chevron’s funding also supports the following program initiatives:

• Encouraging low dose CT scans to detect and diagnose lung cancer early to significantly increase the chance of survival.
• Educating high school students about the dangers of vaping and smoking and how to access smoking cessation resources.
• Teaching how to recognize stressors and triggers that lead to smoking habits and providing cessation tools to change behavior by managing stress differently.

The high school education program will include a lunch-and-learn component for parents presented by Chevron Wellness Staff in observance of Lung Cancer Awareness Month.

"Chevron is proud to partner with Ochsner Health on this important campaign,” said Caitlin Hunter, Corporate Affairs Representative for Chevron’s Gulf of Mexico Business Unit. "I am hopeful that sharing this unique story about my experiences with lung cancer will change the course of someone’s life and inspire both smokers and non-smokers to get screened. I am really proud to be an ambassador for this initiative.”

America’s Health Rankings has identified smoking as one of the top 20 drivers of poor health in Louisiana. Smoking damages nearly every organ and is associated with heart disease, stroke, respiratory disease, diabetes, and cancer.

Smoking Cessation is one of the top priorities of Healthy State, a bold initiative by Ochsner to partner with local and state leaders and organizations to realize a more equitable and healthier Louisiana. Healthy State has an overall goal of 214,000 fewer smokers in Louisiana by 2030. To date, Healthy State partners have helped about 100,000 people quit smoking.

Ochsner’s smoking cessation program combines counseling with medications to create a personalized treatment plan. The program changes participants’ lives by allowing them to imagine healthier futures for themselves.

If you or a loved one is interested in these life-saving services like smoking cessation or want to learn more about the program, visit Ochsner.org/quit to schedule an appointment. To learn more about Ochsner Health's lung cancer multidisciplinary program and screening, visit Ochsner.org/services/lung-cancer-multi-disciplinary-program. For more information about Chevron, visit Chevron.com.

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