Altura Centers for Health
- Project Title: Small Health Care Provider Quality Improvement Grant Program
- Grant Period: 2013-2016
- Program Representative Interviewed: Brittany Lizardo, Director of Nursing
- Location: Tulare, CA
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Program Overview: Altura Centers for Health
(Altura) implemented a quality improvement intervention to better identify tobacco users and promote
cessation attempts. Altura providers are prompted to ask each patient about tobacco use by an
electronic health record system and linked electronic disease registry system. Providers then direct
tobacco users to cessation services, such as the California Smoker's Helpline (1-800-No-Butts) and
clinic-provided counseling services and health education.
Altura also employs promotoras (community health workers) to provide outreach and education to community members, including migrant farm workers. Altura trains promotoras to provide information about disease conditions and behaviors, including tobacco use.