Come Nov. 16, employees, visitors and patients at Rockford’s three major health systems will have to travel off hospital grounds to light up.
Health centers face smoking ban
January 3, 2007 WILL COUNTY -- Will County Health Department employees and visitors who smoke will have to find an alternate place to light up beginning Jan. 16 when a campus-wide smoking ban takes effect, health officials said. A similar indoor and outdoor ban on smoking takes effect the same day at Joliet's two hospitals: Provena St. Joseph Medical Center and Silver Cross Hospital and Medical Centers. The Health Department ban, approved by the Will County Board of Health in December, also will apply to the Sunny Hill Outpatient Tuberculosis Clinic, located adjacent to the Health Department campus at 501 Ella Ave., Joliet. "The interior of the Health Department's complex has been smoke-free since 1989," said department spokesman Vic Reato. "The board's action makes the entire campus, indoors and out, as well as the clinic, completely smoke-free." Nearly 200 employees work at the two facilities, Reato noted. Read
Hospitals weigh bans on smoking
Tobacco use may send wrong message, but some workers say they need the stress relief By E.A. Torriero, Tribune staff reporter
December 29, 2006 LOUISVILLE -- Samantha McCandless began smoking when she was 9 after her teenage baby-sitter hooked her on cigarettes. More than a quarter-century later, despite being a nursing supervisor at a busy trauma center, McCandless has no plans to stop her two-pack-a-day habit. Three to four times during a 12-hour shift, McCandless takes a break and smokes in the hospital's designated area. She knows the health risks. "But I like smoking," McCandless, 36, said during a break at Louisville's University Hospital emergency room. "I don't have a desire to quit." McCandless' quest to smoke at work will likely get tougher in coming months. Following national smoking-prohibition trends, more and more hospitals are banning smoking on their properties. A recent survey showed about half of the Chicago area's 96 hospitals have done so or are planning for it. Across America -- even here in the heart of tobacco country -- health-care establishments are fed up with people, including patients hooked to intravenous units and nurses who treat them, smoking on their premises. As they consider bans, hospitals are becoming more aggressive in persuading their practitioners to stop smoking, not only because of concerns about their health but also because the use of tobacco by health professionals sends a hypocritical message to patients. Nurses among top smokers As a group, nurses are among America's top smokers: 16 percent of the nation's 2.3 million nurses smoke, compared with 2 percent to 3 percent of doctors, surveys show. "The nurses smoking thing continues to astound me," said Connie Sorrell, director of the Kentucky Cancer Program. "But physicians and nurses are just people. This speaks to how strong the addiction is." Yet, in the battle against smoking, health-care facilities are a conflicted frontier. As cities and businesses across America go smoke-free, many hospitals have been reluctant to do the same. Medical administrators fear that patients and families stressed by health problems could be pushed over the edge if prohibited from smoking in front of the hospital. As for nurses and other caregivers who smoke, the thinking goes, lighting up provides a release from tension during long, difficult shifts. And researchers say blanket bans are often not the solution to helping people kick bad habits. "On the one hand, there is recognition that smokers are enslaved by an addiction," said Brad Rodu, director of the University of Louisville's research project on tobacco harm reduction, which receives grants from tobacco companies. "On the other, society treats them like outcasts." In a 12-block area of downtown Louisville that is home to dozens of medical facilities, the dilemma over what to do about smoking is playing out in daily debate. The answers are not easy in a state where thousands of people make a living growing and selling tobacco, a state that has the highest smoking rate in the nation. More than 30 percent of the population smoke. One large downtown medical provider, Norton Healthcare, plans to ban smoking outside its facilities on May 1. That is causing debate among employees, patients and their families. "It's the right thing to do," said Russell Cox, Norton's chief operating officer. A few blocks away, another major hospital center, this one run by the University of Louisville, is likely to follow suit by fall, along with most metro-area hospitals, officials said. A citywide indoor smoking ban is to take effect in mid-2007. Inside two of the city's largest hospitals, nurses are prominent figures in the controversy over smoking bans, and nationally, they are being targeted to enroll in stop-smoking programs. "This is not about shame and blame. Nurses don't imagine a life of addiction to the very thing they counsel people not to do," said Linda Sarna, a nursing professor at UCLA who promotes an online initiative called Tobacco Free Nurses. Some 2,000 nurses nationwide have tried to stop smoking online. Among nurses in Louisville, there are sharp divisions over smoking. Smokers often sneak extra breaks, say nurses who don't smoke. Non-smokers also resent the smell of smoke on their colleagues. "I don't have a lot of sympathy for [smoking]," said Anna Smith, who supervises 130 nurses in the university emergency room where about 25 percent of them smoke. Nurses take sides But Farrah Guerrant, a nurse who works with sexual assault victims in the trauma center, said nurses often use smoke breaks to release tensions. Guerrant, a mother of two, does not smoke at home but does take smoking breaks at work. "Sometimes it's a social thing," she said. "But many times it's stress." A few blocks away, at the trauma center at Kosair Children's Hospital, which is run by Norton, non-smoking nurses say secondhand smoke on the clothes of nurses is a hazard. "We have children in here with asthma and breathing problems," said nursing supervisor Cynthia Robinson. "Smoke shouldn't be anywhere near here." Nurse Jennifer Ford, 31, who smokes about half a pack a week, said prohibiting smoking outside the hospital's entrance is punitive. Many of the children's families need outdoor space in which to smoke, she said. Cigarette butts and empty cigarette packs litter the entrance to the hospital. "Their children are in here for a crisis and we're supposed to tell them you can't go smoke?" Ford asked. Hospitals in Louisville know the coming bans will pose enforcement problems, especially for visitors. Downtown sidewalks and alleys could become smoking hangouts. Kerry Slahta, 59, has tried often to stop smoking. Now in a smoking-cessation class at Norton, he nonetheless objects to the proposed outdoor smoking ban. When his mother was at a Norton facility for surgery, Slahta smoked outside the hospital. "When I want to smoke I'll find a way to do it," he said. "What are they going to do? Throw me in jail if I smoke in the street?" Among several strategies, Norton hopes to put a positive spin on its message and politely ask violators to put out their cigarettes. Officials at the University of Louisville's hospital are mulling whether to hire a special anti-cigarette patrol or to simply be firm with smokers. It's important to change mind-sets over the long term, hospital officials said, rather than to expect total compliance. Toward that end, the hospitals will spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on smoking-cessation programs and nicotine-replacement products. In January, the university health-care system will offer employees the opportunity to become part of a controversial research project to use smokeless tobacco products, including pellets, as a way to stop smoking. Rodu's program offers a nicotine fix without the effects of smoke and other carcinogens. While its merits are studied, there will be an immediate benefit: Users will not have to stand outside the hospital to have a puff. etorriero@tribune.com Read
Area hospitals move to total smoking bans
Facilities not considering measures stress need for employee morale, visitor comfort August 30, 2006
By Jack Komperda, Daily Herald Staff Writer
More than a dozen hospitals in the Northwest and West suburbs are planning to eliminate smoking on their grounds within the next year. The new smoking restrictions, which include off-site clinics and properties, come at the urging of health care lobbying groups. Of the 27 hospitals in the Daily Herald’s readership area, 12 prohibit smoking on their grounds. Eight plan to ban smoking by November, and another five are slated to enact bans by November 2007. That leaves only two hospitals — Provena St. Joseph Medical Center in Elgin and St. Alexius Medical Center in Hoffman Estates — with no immediate plans to eliminate smoking on their premises. St. Alexius spokeswoman Cyndi Alexander said administrators fear the restrictions could hurt employee morale and future recruitment.
“It’s not a secret there’s a shortage of health-care workers in the industry,” Alexander said. “Even though it’s probably the right thing to do, we don’t want the possibility of losing even one nurse because we tell her she can’t smoke during her break.” Provena St. Joseph banned smoking on its grounds in 2000, but amended the policy two years later to keep smokers at least 25 feet away from doorways. A separate smoking area was created for employees behind the hospital near the distribution area. “We don’t support smoking, but we found we needed to provide comfort for our visitors,” said Heather Gates, hospital spokeswoman. “Many of our guests were smoking, anyway. They were just hiding it or felt they were breaking the rules.” All hospitals surveyed have banned smoking within their buildings, but policies outside facilities tend to be spotty. Edward Hospital in Naperville, for instance, ushers visitors and employees to canopied smoking areas or picnic tables near parking lots. At Holy Family Medical Center in Des Plaines, visitors are allowed to smoke in the courtyard. Condell Medical Center in Libertyville keeps smokers at least 50 feet away from doorways. And, despite all the plans for smoke-free hospital campuses, allowing some type of smoking is the norm within the Chicago area, hospital advocates say. “While all hospitals recognize smoking cessation is important, some are still working to take it to that next step,” said Kevin Scanlan, president of the Metropolitan Chicago Healthcare Council, a Chicago-based hospital trade group. Scanlan estimates that only about 20 percent of the 96 hospitals in the Chicago area represented by his group restrict smoking on their properties. His agency, along with other national health groups such as the American Hospital Association and the American Lung Association, are pressing to enact similar smoking bans. Advocate Health Care is preparing among the most ambitious smoking bans this fall. All 10 of the hospitals owned by the system, including Good Samaritan Hospital in Downers Grove, Good Shepherd Hospital in Barrington and Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge, will prohibit smoking on their grounds beginning Nov 16. In addition, about 200 off-site facilities run by the health care chain will also enact similar restrictions. “We’re moving toward a culture of safety,” said Sarah Evans, a spokeswoman from Good Samaritan Hospital. “It’s really about being proactive and being community leaders and being right.” But it doesn’t hurt knowing you’re on the groundswell of growing public opinion. “Once somebody makes the leap, somebody else says, ‘Hey, I can make that same leap, too,’æ” said Steve Aull, director of fitness and wellness program and the chairman of the tobacco-free task force at Condell Medical Center in Libertyville. “Before you know it, we’re riding a wave we all created together.” Aull concedes Condell’s decision to go smoke-free in November stems from similar bans passed in Chicago and under consideration by the Libertyville village board. Patient complaints pushed McHenry County-based Centegra Health Systems to enact a campus-wide smoking ban earlier this year at Memorial Medical Center in Woodstock and Northern Illinois Medical Center in McHenry. The changes prompted calls from at least seven local and out-of-state health-care organizations hoping to learn about how Centegra managed its policy changes, said Joseph Hurshe, Centegra vice president of operations. “From the moment you drive onto our campus, you become aware this is a no-smoking facility,” he said. “We’re really proud of the fact we’re establishing a non-smoking culture.” Read
Quincy Medical Group will become a smoke-free campus July 5. June 26, 2006
By Kelly Wilson, Herald-Whig Staff Writer While the clinic has been smoke free inside its facilities for many years, the new policy will extend to all of its properties and adjacent parking lots and sidewalks. "It will be applicable to anyone smoking on campus," said Bob Johnson, executive director of human resources. Johnson said Quincy Medical Group's Community Involvement Committee — made up of physicians and staff members, smokers and non-smokers — has been assessing the idea for some time. The group's board of directors decided to move forward with a smoke-free campus to mirror a nationwide trend and to lead by example in the health-care industry. "You're seeing smoke-free campuses more and more throughout the country and in a medical group environment, the board felt it was the right thing to do for the organization," Johnson said. "We're a health-care facility. We just want to set up a healthy environment," said Dr. John Scott, a physician at Quincy Medical Group who leads the Community Involvement Committee. "We want to encourage our employees and patients to live healthy lifestyles, and while this does not mean everyone will stop smoking, we want to ensure that our campus reflects good health." Quincy Medical Group's expansion of its smoke-free zone is part of a growing trend nationwide targeting smoking in public places. In Illinois, for example, bans on smoking in bars and restaurants are on the books in 19 cities from Springfield to Chicago and awaiting votes in more than 40 towns. In Quincy, a coalition is working toward introducing a city ordinance that would ban smoking in restaurants. Blessing Hospital last year announced its plan to have a smoke-free campus. All buildings, facilities and spaces that are owned, rented or leased by Blessing will become nonsmoking and tobacco product-free areas Nov. 16. This includes covered walkways and parking areas. While typically aimed at clearing the air to protect nonsmokers from secondhand smoke, supporters say smoking bans also could nudge smokers to kick the habit. Studies show bans have helped curb smoking across the county, where 14 states, the District of Columbia and hundreds of cities have comprehensive indoor smoking bans that include bars and restaurants. In terms of health-care facilities, the Americans for Nonsmokers' Rights group says that research has shown that smoke-free campuses: * Aid in community, employee and patient cessation efforts; * Lower maintenance costs; and * Increase worker productivity. "It impacts everything from health insurance to facility environment to the well-being of our staff and patients," Johnson said. Employee meetings about Quincy Medical Group's new policy have taken place over the past several months, and the group is working to help employees who want to kick the smoking habit. "We gave plenty of notice to the staff and we want to work with them all the way. It's a major change for some," Johnson said. When an employee wants to quit smoking, Quincy Medical Group works through that employee's physician to provide smoking cessation programs. Counseling programs also are available, as well as group meetings and events. "This will be ongoing," Johnson said. Scott, a former smoker, knows how hard it is to quit smoking. But he also knows it's possible. "Start walking or exercising," he suggests. "And quit one day at a time. Get a calendar and try to make it through one day, and then another. Also, have a couple good heartfelt reasons to quit smoking." As a reward, Scott suggests saving the money that would have been spent on tobacco products each day and using that money to buy something fun. "That's your money, your reward for the rest of your life for quitting smoking," he said. The health benefits associated with giving up tobacco have been well documented. Scott said a cardiovascular benefit will be almost immediate, and a person's cancer risk will lower gradually. In addition to offering smoking cessation help to employees, Quincy Medical Group is offering free behavioral change clinics to the public. Let the lady take that last puff of life in her own way Amy MackApril 09, 2006 I knew my mom was feeling better when she unfolded her morning paper, grabbed her magnifying glass and carefully scanned the obituaries. Days after her second hospitalization in a month, this time suffering internal bleeding, dangerously low blood pressure and double pneumonia, it was more than a bit chilling for me. But comforting in an odd way. My parents have had some difficult days and know they’ll face more. But, almost without fail, one of the first tasks each morning is to check the death notices. Several days with no attempt to read the obits told me her condition was ominous. Through the years we’ve joked about this “Who died yesterday?” thing and chat about the cycle of life and how it’s all working like it’s supposed to. “We’re old,” my mom often says now. “Just old.” Like that makes it OK to die. Not so fast there, chickie, I respond in my head. But outwardly I nod and say I understand, that it’s OK, that I know she’s preparing me for the day that will inevitably come. Inside I run for the hills. I know the what and the where of the service she’d like, the songs and even who should sing them. I know the “Do not resuscitate” and “Do not intubate” orders and the ever-increasing wish to die with dignity at home and not in some “damned hospital” where the nurses won’t let her smoke. Like having another cigarette is going to do harm after almost seven decades of puffing away. It’s become a big issue in recent weeks as hospital care became a necessity for a woman who dreads hospitals, abhors the loss of independence and is afraid — despite her “I’m old” bluster — of dying. She’s not so ready yet. So, stomping her foot a bit, she balked at taking her pills unless she could have a cigarette. Not getting her way, she balked a bit more until, finally, far before she was medically ready, she demanded to go home. Smiling, shaking our heads at the familiar feisty demand that meant our mom was still very much with us, yet stricken with fear of what that choice might mean, we readily supported her decision. It’s been two weeks now and she’s eating again, has regained the use of her legs, uses the oxygen a bit less and, yes, is puffing away quite contently in her yellow chair where she can control the TV channels, if not her fate. We don’t know if she has days, weeks, months or years. Nor do we know if this was just an odd event or a sign of things to come. We try to be ready for the latter, but can’t quite do it. No matter what comes, the child four hours away, another a thousand miles distant and one on the other coast, know that we’ll do what we can to be there for her wherever she wants to be. She nursed us through mumps and measles, scarlet fever, chicken pox, colds and flu. She wiped away our tears at lost loves, failed tests, and art projects resembling blobs of goop. Gently she guided this geeky child through acne, buck teeth, silver braces, alien hair and the fashion sense of a goat. This woman whose own mother died when she was 7 was — and is — my comfort zone at joyful news, tough challenges, and disasters; my guide for parenting my own precious children; my prompt to get it together when need be. Sometimes I call, even though I have her recipe, to find out how to make Hoppin’ John, that southern good luck dish on New Year’s, or her special fried chicken — just to hear her. I haven’t told her how much I miss going shopping or cooking up feasts like we used to. We’ve learned to instead enjoy little chats about nothing, watching “Law and Order” reruns and “Wheel of Fortune” — even though she can barely make out the TV screen. No longer do I make the trek to watch this southern lady with attitude — who took up teaching dance in her 60s — take her fellow aging students to compete in a dance contest. Her loss of vision and mobility stole the love of books and long drives we’ve shared. She can’t do all the things she once treasured but she can still, in blunt defiance of doctors’ and nurses’ orders not to, take delight in lighting up a cigarette, dangling it from one hand as she controls the remote in the other between sips of a Diet Coke on ice. Her world may have shrunk to the turf around her special chair, but she’ll be darned if she’s giving another inch. And that’s how I know my mother — who taught me to always fight for what’s right and to never let the strong overpower the weak — is still, somewhere, in there. And it is that lady I’ll hold on to forever. Read
SAMMEC says... Hearing for the umpteenth time today how 3000 die every year from the effects of second hand smoke it makes you wonder just how moronic one has to be... Read More
Smoking and Tobacco Control Monographs Monograph 10: Health Effects of Exposure to Environmental Tobacco Smoke Read
American Cancer Society Admits "Mistake" in Ad Date of original release: 8/10/98 (By Wanda Hamilton) Read
Hospital smoke ban carries risk
April 4, 2006
Phil Luciano
I think the local hospitals have it all wrong with the planned smoking ban.
They want to make the hospitals healthier. I worry about the opposite.
I'd feel more comfortable if the hospitals keep allowing staff easy access to smoking.
The hospitals - OSF Saint Francis Medical Center, Pekin Hospital, Methodist Medical Center and Proctor Hospital - will go completely smoke free next year.
Right now, no one can smoke inside the hospitals. Makes sense. You don't want tobacco clouds enveloping respirators.
But smokers - staff and visitors - now can smoke in smoking areas outside. Those zones will disappear July 4, 2007.
After that, visitors can leave the grounds to smoke. I'm not worried about their tobacco needs.
Yet I do fret about the medical staff.
Look, I fully understand that tobacco is a killer. That's why (aside from the occasional cigar) I don't smoke.
But a lot of folks do, even in the medical field. It's not unusual to see gatherings of gown-clad staffers outside a hospital, puffing during breaks.
Is that healthy? No. They'd be better off quitting. And the hospitals will offer stop-smoking programs.
But some smokers never can quit. And that's why the smoking ban makes me nervous.
Staffers still will be able to leave the campus for lunch to smoke. But that still leaves long stretches of their shifts in which they can't have a puff.
When medical providers are taking care of you or a loved one, you want them at the top of their game. But if they're near the end of a long shift and craving a cigarette, their minds might be elsewhere.
I'm not saying a tobacco jones will directly trigger horrendous medical errors. But I do wonder if maybe an injection will jam into your arm a little more roughly. Or maybe providers will get crabby about having to change your bed pan again or fetching your grandma a glass of water.
But the hospitals say the ban is a change for the better.
"There will be grumbling," said Proctor President Norm LaCante. "But this is an environment where we are taking care of sick people."
A small percentage of patients might be medically sensitive to any odor of tobacco on a medical provider's uniform. Those needs must be addressed.
But for many people, the scent of smoke - not second-hand smoke, but just the smell - won't cause any harm.
One of my relatives once had a serious heart problem. That relative is alive today only because of the services of a top-notch cardiac surgeon.
Not one of us cared that the surgeon's smock carried a whiff of tobacco. If he needed to fire one up to keep his nerves calm, that was fine with us.
But the hospitals want more from their staffs. Said Dr. Stephen Smith, president of the medical staff at Methodist, "I think what we need to do as a hospital is set an example."
Great idea, in a perfect world. But people, including medical providers, aren't perfect.
How far does this example-setting extend? Should the hospitals prohibit doctors from having a cocktail at a pub? Or eating fast food?
Neither is healthy, and patients might witness such behavior. Should hospital staffers set perfect examples 24/7?
Let them do what they want, warts and all. All I care is, do they do their job well?
Rockford Register Star Rockford, IL Dear Editors: Fritz Jacobi, President and publisher, (815) 987-1451, fjacobi@rrstar.com Wally Haas, Editorial page editor, (815) 987-1359, whaas@rockford.gannett.com Judy Emerson, Columnist/writing coach, (815) 987-1336, jemerson@rrstar.com Mary Kaull, Assistant editorial page editor, (815) 987-1363, mkaull@rrstar.com Chuck Sweeny, Political editor, (815) 987-1372, csweeny@rrstar.com
RE: Hospitals roll one more strike against smokers
The publishing staff and editors of the Rockford Register Star really should have the courage to print the author's name for "Hospitals Roll One More Strike Against Smokers", in order to validate the biased smoke hating opinion published. Promoting further discrimination against smokers and callously dictating public attitudes on smoking cessation, based on social engineering and draconian bans, against one quarter of the Illinois smoking population really requires the author's name. Perhaps smoke free tobacco alternatives (snus) should be promoted, rather than ineffectual smoking cessation aids from the pharmaceutical giants.
If we are to believe that every year thousands and thousands of people die prematurely from tobacco-related causes, then we had also better avoid doctors and hospitals since they could kill us as well.
Nearly one-fourth as many people die from medical error as the "guesstimated" fatalities from smoking cigarettes. Annually, 98,000 deaths are caused by medical error, according to a report released in the May 18, 2005 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association ("Five Years After 'To Err Is Human': What Have We Learned?"). Premature smoking death statistics are merely computer-generated - SAMMEC.
The negative aspects of hospitals' total smoking bans are simple common sense that hospital administrators have failed to acknowledge. Social engineering dictatorial policies made in conflict with consideration for staff members, patients and visitors can only have negative results. Patients, their family members and concerned visitors are already under great additional stress from the necessity of being in a hospital facility.
Hospital smoking bans deter smoking patients from obtaining medical treatment and procedures. Also, while those requiring admission are forced to stay within the confines of a hospital, forced smoking cessation hinders their recovery. Many smokers who are family members and friends of the patients will reduce the length and frequency of their visits to comfort patients. Staff members who smoke will become resentful. Ultimately, many people will "sneak" their smokes, thereby increasing fire risks.
Behavior modifications, mandated under already stressful situations in hospitals, are sheer stupidity and show a complete lack of respect for the well-being of a great number of the very people they are committed to help. Forced eradication of life style choices never have and never will be effective. Has it ever occurred to the smoke haters that many smokers refuse to be coerced into quitting and will continue to resist unconstitutional bans and taxes?
------------------ Rockford Register Star February 27, 2006 Editorial: Hospitals roll one more strike against smokers Read
Rockford hospitals to start smoking ban in November
Employees, patients and visitors will be asked to smokeoff-campus at all hospitals and clinics.
Published: February 23, 2006
By Rowena Vergara
ROCKFORD REGISTER STAR
ROCKFORD — Come Nov. 16, employees, visitors and patients at Rockford’s three major health systems will have to travel off hospital grounds to light up.
Speaking at a news conference Wednesday at the YMCA of Rock River Valley, hospital leaders said they are banning smoking on their campuses for two simple reasons: Smoking kills, and health-care systems want to do their part in promoting better health.
Attending the conference were officials from OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center, Rockford Health System, SwedishAmerican Health System and Van Matre HealthSouth Rehabilitation Hospital, affiliated with Rockford Health.
Starting in November — the date was chosen because it is the day of the Great American Smokeout, a national event that challenges smokers to go smoke-free for 24 hours — anyone who wants to smoke will have to do it off hospital or clinic property. That could mean getting a little exercise first. A walk off the main campus at OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center, for example, is about 300 yards.
“That’s the shortest distance from our property,” said David Schertz, Saint Anthony administrator and CEO.
Signs will be posted outside and inside all hospital and clinic buildings, and each of the hospital systems will sell nicotine patches or nicotine gum at their main gift shops.
Jan Hagenlocher, director of public relations at SwedishAmerican Hospital, said once the ban takes effect, visitors who are seen smoking outside any of the three hospitals but still on campus grounds will most likely be handed an informational card and will be asked to smoke elsewhere. If they do not comply, no further action will be taken.
The repercussions for employees have not been determined, officials said Wednesday. About 10,000 people work at the three health systems combined.
This is about educating the health-care community, not punishing it, SwedishAmerican Hospital President and CEO Bill Gorski said. “We want to send a message, but we don’t want to personally attack them at all.”
Toni Baxter, a clerical worker at SwedishAmerican Hospital and a pack-a-day smoker, said her breaks will most likely run longer when the ban goes into effect. She doesn’t plan to quit smoking.
The ban “is not an incentive to stop smoking. You’re not going to stop people from doing it,” she said.
Nonsmoker Monica Lowenthal of Rockford, not a hospital employee, supports the ban. “I think it’s perfect. They put their cigarette butts wherever they want, and people need to think about people around them.”
Other Illinois hospitals have implemented similar measures. In November, St. John’s Hospital in Springfield went smoke-free, and a number of Chicago hospitals have prohibited smoking.
Since 1988, Freeport Health Network has had a no-smoking policy, but the rules are less stringent than what Rockford health officials have proposed.
Freeport Health Network employees may not smoke on campus grounds, but they are provided a smoking area across the street from the main hospital and behind a fence. Hospital visitors may smoke in a designated area outside the emergency room and patients, except those who are terminally ill, are not allowed to smoke.
Michael Perry, president and CEO of Freeport Health Network, said he considered a property-wide smoking ban like Rockford’s last year, but after receiving feedback from employees, opted to not alter the current policy. He said a number of hospital employees were against a no-smoking policy for visitors because prohibiting smoking would take away one way to relieve stress.
“I got more feedback than anything I’ve ever asked for before,” he said. “It was a very interesting learning lesson for me because there were some fairly good reasons and a whole lot of people who would be extremely unhappy.”
Perry said a designated employee smoking area was more favorable than allowing workers to smoke in front of nearby homes or on sidewalks, where their actions would be much more visible. “We’re a health-care facility, and we don’t want to see a nurse in a nurse’s uniform outside smoking. It doesn’t set a good example for our patients,” he said.
Perry commended Rockford hospitals for taking a step that Freeport decided against.
Aside from minimizing the obvious health risks, employers of all types have implemented smoking bans because, in the long-term, their health care costs could decrease with fewer smokers on staff. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, each employee who smokes costs an employer more than $3,300, which includes $1,760 in lost productivity and $1,620 in excess medical expenditures.
Smokers miss twice as many days of work as nonsmokers, according to the American Cancer Society. According to the organization, smokers are absent for about 6.16 days because of sickness, while nonsmokers miss an average of about 3.86 days.
Until November, advisory groups will meet to talk about the new smoking policy and its components. “We’ll share ideas back and forth,” Rockford Health System President and CEO Gary Kaatz said.
The health care systems will also spend the next nine months looking at how other hospitals in the state have handled smoking bans.
Visitor Karl Daniels, 49 of Rockford was smoking Wednesday in a designated area outside the SwedishAmerican emergency room. He supported the no-smoking policy.
“I think it’s a good move. They should do it,” he said.
Wendy Johnson, a clerk in the SwedishAmerican Hospital emergency room, said a few people were upset by the plan, “but not as many as you think.”
A half-pack-a-day smoker, Johnson said the ban may cause her to cut down on smoking — sort of.
“I will probably smoke more once I get off work,” she said.
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