• Congratulations to Dr. Bailey, TIPS Director, who was awarded First Place at the 12th Annual Women's Health Conference for the poster presentation "The Link Between Pregnancy Smoking and Poor Birth Outcomes in Northeast Tennessee." Way to go!
• TIPS will be conducting a FREE Smoking Cessation Workshop. The classes will be for six weeks from 5:30-7pm at ETSU OB/GYN. Topics will included: Education and Information about Pregnancy Smoking, Information about Secondhand Smoke Exposure, Understanding Nicotine Addiction, Developing a Quit Smoking Plan, Stress Management Skills, Developing Support Systems, Handling Slip-Ups and Postpartum Smoking Cessation. To reserve a spot, please contact Erin at 423-833-8303. See you there!
• Welcome to Jessica Scott, new TIPS research assistant, who joined the project in August. Jessica is a masters student in psychology with substantial research experience. She will be a great addition to the team.
• Farewell (for now) to Chenoa Allen, who worked for TIPS as a case manager this summer. Chenoa has returned to the University of California for her second year of medical school. She was a great asset to the program this summer and we hope she will return next year.
• Farewell (kind of) to Heather Wright, TIPS Research Assistant, who began medical school at ETSU in July. Heather will continue to work part-time on the project as the schedule permits.
• Congratulations to Dr. Bailey, TIPS Project Director, who was recently promoted to the rank of Associate Professor and granted tenure at ETSU!
• On June 28, 2008, TIPS participated in Healthy Mother Equals Healthy Baby Expo sponsored by the Sullivan County Health Department HUGS (Help Us Grow Successfully). Expectant parents, new parents and those planning pregnancy were invited for pregnancy information and presentations.
• Congratulations to Lee Cutshaw, TIPS Case Manager, who gave birth to a daughter on June 2, 2008. Our best to Lee, her husband Dane, and big sister Zada!
• Welcome to Lana McGrady, new TIPS Project Coordinator, who joined us at the beginning of June. Lana has extensive experience in project management, health education and women's health issues. She will be a great asset to the program.
• TIPS bids farewell to Laura Jones Cole, our Project Coordinator during first year of the program. Laura did an excellent job getting the program off the ground and laying the foundation for future success. Laura relocated out of state, and her enthusiasm for and dedication to the project will be greatly missed.
• Welcome to Chenoa Allen, who joins us for the summer from the University of California. Chenoa will be filling in as the TIPS Case Manager at ETSU OB/GYN. A rising second year medical student, Chenoa will be working with Dr. Bailey on her thesis project for her MPH degree.
• Welcome to Jennifer Correll, a doctoral student in clinical psychology at ETSU. Jennifer will be volunteering her time and clinical expertise to the TIPS program in the upcoming year as she works with Dr. Bailey on her dissertation project.
• Congratulations to our TIPS staff who recently completed a Freedom From Smoking Clinic Facilitator Training. The following individuals are now certified by the American Lung Association as Smoking Cessation Facilitators: Chenoa Allen, Beth Bailey, Erin Chambers, Lee Cutshaw, Lana McGrady, Cassandra Pusateri, and Heather Wright.
• Thank you to Dr. Tom Catron, Rashonda Lewis, and Dr. Michael Warren from the Governor's Office of Children's Care Coordination. This team conducted our Year 1 project review and site visit on May 22, 2008, concluding that the TIPS program is "exceeding expectations". We greatly appreciate their support of our project and mission in Northeast Tennessee.
• Congratulations to Heather Wright, who was awarded First Place at the Appalachian Student Research Forum in the Medical Students category for her poster presentation "Access to Obstetric Care in Rural East Tennessee: Association with Birth Outcomes." Beth Bailey, served as Ms. Wright's faculty sponsor. Heather serves as Research Assistant with TIPS.
• On May 29 and 30, 2008, TIPS hosted a Freedom From Smoking Clinic Facilitator Training. Sponsored by the American Lung Association, this 12 hour training certifies participants to facilitate a behavior-oriented smoking cessation program geared toward group interaction and support. TIPS Case Managers participated and received their certification.
• Welcome Erin McNeese Chambers and Cassandra Fenner Pusateri, our two new TIPS Case Managers who joined us in March 2008. Cassandra is our new hospital-based case manager, while Erin is working at prenatal care practice sites. Both ladies are providing smoking cessation support to pregnant women and health care professionals working with these patients.
• On March 25, 2008, TIPS conducted our third student nurse training of the semester. Third year nursing students beginning their obstetric clinicals learned about the dangers of pregnancy smoking and techniques for helping pregnant patients quit smoking. The training was conducted by TIPS Project Coordinator, Laura Cole. Thank you to Dr. Judy McCook for arranging this for the nursing students!
• TIPS would like to welcome the following ETSU students to the project: Melody Hughes (Nursing), Melody McVey (Public Health), Davida Rodgers (Public Health), Srinivas Uppalata (Public Health), Stuart Winkler (Medicine), and Jennifer Ziock (Medicine). These six students are participating in a two semester Rural Track Community Participatory Research course and are focusing on pregnancy smoking in Carter County. Dr. Bailey, TIPS Project Director, and Dr. Judy McCook, Nursing faculty, will be working with these students to address the problem of pregnancy smoking in Carter County.
• On March 12, 2008, TIPS conducted a second educational session for the Mother-Child Connection class at Holston Counseling Center. The session provided information about and assistance with smoking cessation for pregnant participants. Our initial participation in January was very well received and we have been invited to be a regular part of the classes.

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