Published: November 20, 2008 08:45 am      

St. Joseph London smoke free

Hospital: Ban enforces ‘commitment to creating healthier communities’

By Brad Hicks / Staff Writer

Wednesday, several Saint Joseph London employees and visitors stood outside, puffing away on some of the last cigarettes to be smoked at the hospital.

To coincide with today’s Great American Smokeout, Saint Joseph London is joining its fellow hospitals in the Saint Joseph Health System, along with other hospitals in the commonwealth, in establishing a tobacco-free policy. The ban applies not only to cigarettes, but all tobacco products, including chewing tobacco, cigars and snuff.

According to a release provided by Saint Joseph London Public Affairs Director Sharon Hershberger, the primary reason for elimination of the tobacco products on the properties of the Saint Joseph Health System is the health concerns caused by second-hand smoke and to show the system’s “commitment to creating healthier communities.”

“We are sympathetic about the addictive nature of nicotine and are aware that for some people, smoking is a stress-reducer,” the release states. “Likewise, we realize that having a loved one in the hospital is very stressful for family members. However, we have an obligation to provide a safe, healthy environment for everyone who visits a Saint Joseph Health System campus/facility.”

According to the Kentucky Department for Public Health, “each year more than 8,000 Kentuckians die of illnesses caused by tobacco use. Some die of lung cancer, while others fall victim to cardiovascular disease because of tobacco use. Annually, over $1.2 billion is spent in Medicaid and Medicare funds to treat Kentuckians for illnesses caused or made worse by their use of tobacco products.”

But the hospital’s smoking ban has already drawn criticism from visiting smokers.

Pam Roberts made the approximately 75-mile trip from Ewing, Va. early Wednesday morning to visit a family member in the hospital. While Roberts is not opposed to banning smoking around the entrances and certain parts of the hospital, she said its complete eradication on hospital premises was excessive.

“I think they should have designated smoking areas somewhere for the smokers,” she said. “When you gotta have it, you gotta have it.”

Roberts also expressed concern over the growing trend of stamping out smoking in public places.

“We should not be banned from everything,” she said. “We can’t help it. Well, we could, but...”

Brenda Bowling, visiting her husband, has been a smoker for about 37 years and said she believes the rules are too “pushy.”

“I think it’s a civil rights violation myself,” Brenda Bowling said. “It shouldn’t be a forced issue ... It’s just too pushy. It’s communist, really ... I try to be respectful of the people around me that are not smokers and get away from them. The hospital is not being respectful to us.”

Sitting next to Brenda Bowling on the bench just outside of the hospital’s entrance was Lisa Smith-Bowling. Like Brenda, she is a smoker who is staunchly against the tobacco ban. She said the secondhand smoke emitted by cigarettes dissipates quickly in the outside air.

However, a 2007 study by Stanford University researchers showed that even brief exposure to secondhand smoke in outdoor settings causes health risks to non-smokers and can increase the severity of asthma attacks.

“We’re not saying to get out here and kill nobody, but if we want to kill ourselves with cigarettes, that’s our right,” Lisa Smith-Bowling said. “It’s gonna get worse. They’re gonna end up taking our cigarettes away.”

Under the new policy, smoking is prohibited on property owned or leased by the Saint Joseph Health System. This includes parking lots and vehicles in those lots — employees and visitors are not allowed to go out to their cars and use tobacco. However, several of the visitors said this would not stop them from lighting up on hospital grounds if the urge arises.

“If they want to tow me off, they can tow the car off with me in it,” Brenda Bowling said.

As upset as most of the smoking visitors appear concerning the ban, employees who use tobacco see it as beneficial to employees, patients and visitors. Whether they smoke or not, the hospital’s more than 900 employees will be affected by the tobacco ban.

“I’m trying to quit and, in a way, it helps me quit,” said current smoker and hospital dietician Brandy Kilburn.

CNA/Tech Lindsey “Kat” Sizemore agreed. Sizemore said she was initially a little upset when learning of the impending ban, but now sees it as a great thing for both employees and, especially, the patients of Saint Joseph London.

“I think it’s going to help a lot of employees quit smoking,” she said. “If you can go 12 hours without smoking, you can quit smoking.”

Head cashier in the hospital cafeteria, Beth Robbins, is an infrequent smoker who also understands why the policy is being enacted and views it positively.

“I think it’s a good thing because it (smoking) is nasty, it’s not good for nobody,” Robbins said.

No matter which side of the smoking divide they are on, both employees and visitors agreed that cigarettes serve as an unhealthy form of stress-relief in a stressful environment.

Lisa Wagers’ brother had been on life support for 10 days until Wednesday, when he was finally well enough to be taken off. Wagers said his situation is “iffy” and at any time he may have to be put back on life support.

“You come out and relax for a few minutes,” Wagers said of her smoke breaks at the hospital. “It’s wrong to make people in these critical family situations make that choice.”

Wagers, originally from Laurel County, now resides in Richmond, where last year smoking was prohibited indoors in public places. However, she said smokers could still puff away so long as they are at least 20 feet from a building’s entrance and said the policy at hospitals within the Saint Joseph Health System are much stricter.

“It’s just ridiculous,” she said.

But Saint Joseph hopes the ban can help make a positive difference in people’s lives. As part of the policy, hospitals within the Saint Joseph Health System are offering help to employees through the Free & Clear Quit for Life Program. For Saint Joseph London employees, these courses will be offered at the Laurel County Health Department on an “as needed” basis.

Hershberger said a progressive disciplinary procedure is in place for employees who are caught smoking on hospital property after the tobacco ban becomes official.

Visitors who are seen smoking will be informed of the tobacco-free policy. Hershberger said the policy mentions nothing regarding citations or fines to those caught. In the future, visitors and patients will simply be advised of the policy when checking in.

“We’re not requiring people to quit, just while they’re on the premises,” Hershberger said.

The tobacco ban at Saint Joseph London is just part of a wave of other hospital and medical centers implementing similar policies, Hershberger said.

“A lot of hospitals are going tobacco-free tomorrow,” Hershberger said.

Baptist Regional Medical Center in Corbin still allows smoking on its premises. However, Debbie Hardin, strategic services coordinator for BRMC, said hospital officials have been exploring the topic of a tobacco-free campus and are awaiting the outcome of a possible restaurant smoking ban that has been proposed for the city of Corbin.

“That is something we are working towards,” she said.

INSIDE THE TOBACCO-FREE POLICY

• All tobacco products are banned, including cigarettes, chewing tobacco, dipping tobacco, etc.

• Tobacco use is prohibited anywhere on a Saint Joseph Health System owned or leased campus, adjacent property or off-site facility, including in cars on Saint Joseph properties.

• The policy applies to all employees, patients, physicians and visitors.

• Saint Joseph Health System implemented the ban to “create healthier communities.”