As the program manager for the Veteran Commercial Tobacco Cessation Program at the Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs, Paul is spearheading innovative efforts to expand access to evidence-based, standard of care, cessation treatment for the state's 500,000 plus veterans. With funding from the CDC's Community Disparities grant, Paul is working closely with the WA State Department of Health to address the unique health disparities facing Washington's diverse veteran population. By removing barriers to assessment and treatment, conducting targeted outreach, and training for providers, Paul is building a robust, statewide network of veteran-facing tobacco treatment specialists. He is an active member of several state-level coalitions and work groups: Washington State Leadership Academy (UCSF, SCLC); Washington Breathes Coalition - Improving Cessation Treatment Work Group; Washington State Behavioral Health Work Group, and the Cancer Action Plan of Washington (CAPOW). Paul is also Founder and Organizer of the WA State Veteran Commercial Tobacco Coalition. Prior to his current role, Paul served as training coordinator for WDVA’s Veterans Training Support Center; career counselor at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, WA; workshop facilitator (US Dept. of Labor) supporting transitioning service members with DoD Transition Assistance programs at all WA military installations, Hill Airforce Base, Utah, and Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, HI. He was also a Middle-School Teacher (English, Social Studies) for 13 years. Paul holds an MA in education from Pacific Lutheran University and a BA in Music Therapy from California State University, Northridge. He is a veteran of the US Navy, serving from 1989 to 1993, and additionally serves as a WDVA Vet Corps Program regional coordinator.
Dr. Dana Christofferson is the Deputy Director of the Tobacco Use Treatment National Program Office for the VA Health Care System. Dana is responsible for developing policy, managing national initiatives, including VA’s quitline and text message programs, and overseeing program evaluation efforts in the VA health care system to provide Veterans with high quality, evidence-based, tobacco use treatment.
Alex currently serves as the Director of Practice Improvement and Consulting for the National Behavioral Health Network for Tobacco & Cancer Control as part of the parent organization the National Council for Mental Wellbeing. Based in Houston, Texas, Alex leads a multifaceted array of initiatives focused on eliminating tobacco and cancer related disparities in the mental health population. His purview spans the facilitation of numerous Community of Practices, the strategic development of resources and webinars and the provision of comprehensive training and technical assistance to local, state, and national partners. Prior to his current role, Alex held a position at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, where he served as the Program Director of the EndTobacco® Program within the Department of Behavioral Science. During his 8 year tenure, he spearheaded transformative initiatives, including the Certified Tobacco Treatment Training Program, Project ECHO TEACH, and the Eliminate Tobacco Use Initiative.
Webinar Objectives:
1. Describe the landscape of tobacco use among veterans, including prevalence, unique challenges and contributing factors connected to mental health and wellbeing
2. Identify strategies to address and promote wellness in the context of tobacco use among the veteran population
3. Describe tobacco use rates, available treatment options for veterans in the VA health care system, and how to enroll.
4. Explain the impacts of tobacco use on veterans' health experiences, including prevalence and associated health outcomes.
75 minutes of FREE credit can be earned, for participants who join the LIVE session, on February 26, 2025. You will receive instructions on how to claim credit via the post webinar email.
ACCME Accreditation
In support of improving patient care, the University of California, San Francisco is jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), to provide continuing education for the healthcare team.
UCSF designates this live activity for a maximum of 1.25 AMA PRA Category 1 CreditTM. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the webinar activity.
Advance Practice Registered Nurses and Registered Nurses: For the purpose of recertification, the American Nurses Credentialing Center accepts AMA PRA Category 1 CreditTM issued by organizations accredited by the ACCME.
Physician Assistants: The National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA) states that the AMA PRA Category 1 CreditTM are acceptable for continuing medical education requirements for recertification.
California Pharmacists: The California Board of Pharmacy accepts as continuing professional education those courses that meet the standard of relevance to pharmacy practice and have been approved for AMA PRA category 1 CreditTM. If you are a pharmacist in another state, you should check with your state board for approval of this credit.
California Psychologists: The California Board of Psychology recognizes and accepts for continuing education credit courses that are provided by entities approved by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME). AMA PRA Category 1 CreditTM is acceptable to meeting the CE requirements for the California Board of Psychology. Providers in other states should check with their state boards for acceptance of CME credit.
APA: Continuing Education (CE) credits for psychologists are provided through the co-sponsorship of the American Psychological Association (APA) Office of Continuing Education in Psychology (CEP). The APA CEP Office maintains responsibility for the content of the programs.
Up to 1.25 CE Credit may be claimed.
ASWB: As a Jointly Accredited Organization, UCSF Continuing Education is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Organizations, not individual courses, are approved under this program. Regulatory boards are the final authority on courses accepted for continuing education credit. Social workers completing this course receive 1.25 general continuing education credit.
Interprofessional Continuing Education Credit (IPCE): This activity was planned by and for the healthcare team, and learners will receive 1.25 Interprofessional Continuing Education (IPCE) credits for learning and change.
Disclosures
This UCSF CME activity was planned and developed to uphold academic standards to ensure balance, independence, objectivity, and scientific rigor; adhere to requirements to protect health information under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA); and include a mechanism to inform learners when unapproved or unlabeled uses of therapeutic products or agents are discussed or referenced.
All speakers, planning committee members and reviewers have disclosed they have no relevant financial relationships to disclose with ineligible companies whose primary business is producing, marketing, selling, re-selling, or distributing healthcare products used by or on patients.
Catherine Bonniot, Paul Caseley, MA, CPC, TTS, Christine Cheng, Brian Clark, Alex Hurst, MHA, Jennifer Matekuare, Ma Krisanta Pamatmat, MPH, CHES, Jessica Safier, MA, Jason Satterfield, PhD, Katherine Stone, MPH, BASc, and Maya Vijayaraghavan, MD, MAS.
Don’t need to claim CME/CEUs? SCLC issues free certificates of attendance for those who want contact hours only.