Meeting Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations requirements for tobacco cessation: the St. Joseph's/Candler Health System approach to success.

Health care institutions can no longer treat only the sequelae of tobacco use. Smoking-cessation programs must be instituted to meet health promotion and education goals developed on admission for all patients. Leading authorities, such as the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health Care Organizations and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, now include tobacco-cessation counseling as quality performance measures. This article discusses successful strategies that health care professionals have used at St. Joseph's/Candler Health System in Savannah, Georgia, to meet these standards.