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York, Pa.-Area Hospitals Plan to Be Smoke-Free

Posted on: Wednesday, 1 March 2006, 18:01 CST

By Jennifer Nejman, York Daily Record, Pa.

Mar. 1--The four hospitals in York and Adams counties, along with a rehabilitation hospital, plan to make their campuses completely smoke-free in November.

Patients and employees will not be able to smoke outside on hospital property, in parking lots or inside any buildings.

Memorial Hospital, Hanover Hospital, HealthSouth Rehabilitation Hospital and WellSpan Health's two hospitals -- York Hospital and Gettysburg Hospital -- as well as the Apple Hill Medical Center, for about the past year have been discussing taking the no-smoking step.

They will apply the policy at properties they own, including office buildings and network doctors' offices.

Many entities, including school districts, airports and restaurants, have various smoking policies in place, said Michael Hady, vice president of business development at Memorial Hospital.

Memorial Hospital, like the other local hospitals, does not allow visitors, patients or employees to light up inside, Hady said.

Like most of the other hospitals, it has permitted employees and patients to smoke outside. That will change.

"If not the health-care community, who else? We should be the leader in this," Hady said.

The hospitals have been working on ways to communicate the policy change to the public, so patients and visitors understand how it will affect them and that there will be help, such as medications and other support, available if they desire to quit smoking.

HealthSouth plans to follow suit with the hospitals and is moving toward eliminating its outdoor smoking area for patients and families, said Cheryl Kuhn, director of marketing.

At HealthSouth, employees are permitted to smoke on hospital property only while they are in personal vehicles, Kuhn said.

A survey of WellSpan employees showed the majority supported banning smoking, and the hospital has received complaints from people about the outside smoking area, said Maria Royce, vice president of community relations at WellSpan Health.

However, the hospitals recognize there may be a backlash from smokers about the new policy, Royce said.

Health-care workers seem to smoke at the same rates as the general population, said Flavius Lilly, vice president of organizational development at Hanover Hospital.

Some people, health-care workers included, turn to tobacco when they are stressed.

Part of the plan is to have services available to employees who want to quit using tobacco, Lilly said.

"We know smoking is a major contributor to a lot of chronic diseases, and we felt it was time to take a stand," he said.

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Copyright (c) 2006, York Daily Record, Pa.

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Source: York Daily Record

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