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OSF HealthCare Achieves Impressive Tobacco Quit Rates With the Free & Clear(R) Quit For Life(TM) Program

Posted on: Sunday, 16 September 2007, 18:00 CDT

SEATTLE, Sept. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- OSF HealthCare is celebrating its one-year anniversary with the Free & Clear(R) Quit For Life(TM) Program with strong results. OSF HealthCare launched the Quit For Life Program in August of 2006, taking a first-step in supporting healthy lifestyles of its 13,000+ employees, as well as their eligible dependents and OSF HealthCare volunteers. "We are encouraged by the level of participation from our employees and really impressed with the employee satisfaction for the program," said Phyllis Donovan, OSF Healthcare System Corporate Human Resources Coordinator. "Our quit rate after six months ranks well above other quit rates nationally, especially the quit rate associated with quitting smoking 'cold turkey'. We are pleased to be able to support our employees in such an important health improvement program."

As of July 2007, all OSF HealthCare facilities and grounds are smoke-free environments. This includes medical centers and hospitals, provider office practice sites, home care, managed care and corporate offices, and a long-term care facility. In June 2007, just prior to the organization-wide tobacco ban, OSF saw a surge in enrollments in the Quit For Life Program.

"By offering the Quit For Life Program in conjunction with workplace tobacco-use policies, OSF has taken proactive measures to measurably improve the health of its workforce, their families and their volunteers," said Mary Kate Salley, Free & Clear's Senior Vice President of Client Services.

Free & Clear is an award-winning program based on 20 years of research and clinical experience. The program provides one-on-one telephone-based treatment sessions with a professional Free & Clear Quit Coach(TM), as well as the latest medications (e.g. patch, gum), and the only fully integrated Web Coach(TM) online portal and community. Once enrolled, participants have support available even if they quit and start using tobacco again during the treatment program.

About Free & Clear, Inc.

Free & Clear, Inc. is the leading provider of coaching-based tobacco treatment services for health plans, employers, and government organizations. Free & Clear helps its clients improve the health of their populations and control related costs by reducing the prevalence of tobacco use. More than 50 million people have access to the Free & Clear Quit For Life Program, which has had its proof of effectiveness published in multiple peer-reviewed, scientific journals over the course of nearly 20 years. Free & Clear is based in Seattle, Washington. More information about Free & Clear can be found at http://www.freeclear.com/.

About OSF Healthcare System

OSF HealthCare, owned and operated by The Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis, Peoria, Illinois, includes OSF Healthcare System consisting of six acute care facilities in Illinois and one in Upper Michigan, one long-term care facility and two colleges of nursing. It also has a primary care physician network consisting of approximately 170 physicians and 75 mid-level providers, known as OSF Medical Group. OSF HealthCare owns OSF Saint Francis, Inc., comprised of healthcare-related businesses, and OSF Healthcare Foundation, the philanthropic arm of OSF Healthcare System and OSF Home Care. Additionally, OSF HealthPlans, Inc., a subsidiary of OSF Saint Francis, Inc., is a licensed managed care company in the State of Illinois with nearly 80,000 members.

Contact: Terry McMahan Free & Clear, Inc. (206) 876-2100 Terry.McMahan@freeclear.com

Free & Clear, Inc.

CONTACT: Terry McMahan of Free & Clear, Inc., +1-206-876-2100,Terry.McMahan@freeclear.com

Web site: http://www.freeclear.com/

Source: PRNewswire

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