MGH QUIT SMOKING SERVICES

Our Staff

We are a multi-disciplinary team with the expertise
to help smokers succeed at quitting.
We look forward to working with you!

Nancy Rigotti, MD, Director
Nancy Rigotti is the founder and director of the MGH Quit Smoking Service. As a physician, she has worked for two decades to help her patients stop smoking and to train other physicians and nurses to do the same. She has done extensive research in smoking cessation methods and policies, and she is a well-known national expert in the field of tobacco control.

Thelma Tisdale, RN, MPH, Manager/Counselor
Thelma Tisdale is a health educator who has worked with the MGH Quit Smoking Service since its founding in 1992. An experienced counselor and group facilitator, she has expertise in working with smokers who have made multiple, unsuccessful attempts to quit. Before coming to the MGH Quit Smoking Service, she conducted statewide training programs addressing smoking cessation techniques and the hazards of secondhand smoke. Thelma is a Certified Tobacco Treatment Specialist.

Valerie Hillis, BA, Counselor
Valerie Hillis is a smoking cessation counselor who provides bedside counseling to smokers who are hospitalized at MGH. Prior to coming to MGH, Valerie worked at Children's Hospital in Boston, where she provided smoking cessation counseling for parents who smoked and had children hospitalized for respiratory illnesses. Valerie is currently pursuing a master's degree in public health at Boston University.

Kristi Kangas, MPH, MSW, Counselor
Kristi Kangas is a smoking cessation counselor experienced in providing individual and group counseling services for both inpatient and outpatient smokers. Kristi also specializes in working with pregnant women smokers. Kristi has a broad range of counseling experience with a focus on addiction treatment, most specifically, tobacco treatment.. Before coming to the MGH Quit Smoking Service, she coordinated youth education services for the State of Hawaii Department of Health Tobacco Prevention and Education Program.

Nicola E. Majchrzak, MPH, MSW, Counselor
Nicola Majchrzak has a background in interpersonal practice, health education, and management. She has experience counseling hospitalized individuals and running support and educational groups. Nicola has spent time designing educational materials for providers, patients, and families on a variety of health topics, including tobacco. Nicola has completed the tobacco treatment specialist training and has focused solely on tobacco for the past year and a half. Her specific interests focus on assisting chronically ill patients become free from addiction.

Kathleen McKool, RN, MSN, Counselor
Kathleen McKool has worked with Dr. Rigotti since 1986. Her clinical experience includes intensive individual counseling with patients who have complex medical conditions, group programs, and telephone counseling. She has worked on research projects using nicotine replacement, bupropion, and counseling in both inpatient and outpatient settings. She is an instructor for the Massachusetts Tobacco Treatment Specialist Training and Certification Program. Her specialty is cardiovascular nursing, and she also works at the MGH Cardiology Department's Cardiac Rehabilitation Program.


		Our Staff We are a multi-disciplinary team with the expertise to help smokers succeed at quitting. We look forward to working with you! Nancy Rigotti, MD, Director Nancy Rigotti is the founder and director of the MGH Quit Smoking Service. As a physician, she has worked for two decades to help her patients stop smoking and to train other physicians and nurses to do the same. She has done extensive research in smoking cessation methods and policies, and she is a well-known national expert in the field of tobacco control. Thelma Tisdale, RN, MPH, Manager/Counselor Thelma Tisdale is a health educator who has worked with the MGH Quit Smoking Service since its founding in 1992. An experienced counselor and group facilitator, she has expertise in working with smokers who have made multiple, unsuccessful attempts to quit. Before coming to the MGH Quit Smoking Service, she conducted statewide training programs addressing smoking cessation techniques and the hazards of secondhand smoke. Thelma is a Certified Tobacco Treatment Specialist. Valerie Hillis, BA, Counselor Valerie Hillis is a smoking cessation counselor who provides bedside counseling to smokers who are hospitalized at MGH. Prior to coming to MGH, Valerie worked at Children's Hospital in Boston, where she provided smoking cessation counseling for parents who smoked and had children hospitalized for respiratory illnesses. Valerie is currently pursuing a master's degree in public health at Boston University. Kristi Kangas, MPH, MSW, Counselor Kristi Kangas is a smoking cessation counselor experienced in providing individual and group counseling services for both inpatient and outpatient smokers. Kristi also specializes in working with pregnant women smokers. Kristi has a broad range of counseling experience with a focus on addiction treatment, most specifically, tobacco treatment.. Before coming to the MGH Quit Smoking Service, she coordinated youth education services for the State of Hawaii Department of Health Tobacco Prevention and Education Program. Nicola E. Majchrzak, MPH, MSW, Counselor Nicola Majchrzak has a background in interpersonal practice, health education, and management. She has experience counseling hospitalized individuals and running support and educational groups. Nicola has spent time designing educational materials for providers, patients, and families on a variety of health topics, including tobacco. Nicola has completed the tobacco treatment specialist training and has focused solely on tobacco for the past year and a half. Her specific interests focus on assisting chronically ill patients become free from addiction. Kathleen McKool, RN, MSN, Counselor Kathleen McKool has worked with Dr. Rigotti since 1986. Her clinical experience includes intensive individual counseling with patients who have complex medical conditions, group programs, and telephone counseling. She has worked on research projects using nicotine replacement, bupropion, and counseling in both inpatient and outpatient settings. She is an instructor for the Massachusetts Tobacco Treatment Specialist Training and Certification Program. Her specialty is cardiovascular nursing, and she also works at the MGH Cardiology Department's Cardiac Rehabilitation Program.
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