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http://www.omniture.com --> Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Advertisement Email Story to a Friend May 10, 2006 RVMC puts smokers on alert By Bill Kettler Mail Tribune For smokers who work at Rogue Valley Medical Center, there are 235 days left to quit. Jackson County's largest hospital will become a tobacco-free campus Jan. 1. Smoking already is prohibited inside hospital buildings, but the new ban will include all structures, parking lots, gardens, roadways and sidewalks. Hospital administrators were scheduled to announce the policy change at 11:30 a.m. today at Asante's Work Health office, 781 Black Oak Drive. RVMC joins about half a dozen Oregon hospitals that have become tobacco-free, including Mercy Hospital in Roseburg and Salem Hospital. Other hospitals typically prohibit tobacco inside their patient care buildings, but reserve small smoking areas outside in the open air. "It's something we've been thinking about for a long time," said Roy Vinyard, president and chief executive officer of Asante Health System, RVMC's parent company. "As one of the largest employers in the area and a health care provider we really felt we should be setting an example for healthy living, and we decided to make this move," Vinyard said. Jackson County's two other hospitals, Ashland Community Hospital and Providence Medford Medical Center, will retain their small designated smoking areas for patients, visitors and employees outside hospital buildings and away from entry doors. Carolyn Johnson, a spokesperson for Ashland Community Hospital, said Asante had asked the other local hospitals to join in the tobacco-free movement. ACH decided to maintain its current policy after discussing whether it would be appropriate to deny tobacco users their cigarettes when they've been hospitalized or they're visiting a loved one. "If tobacco is their coping mechanism, should we deprive them of that in a stressful time?" Johnson said. Providence cited similar concerns for patients and visitors. "When you're visiting someone in the ICU, that's not the time you're going to quit (smoking)," said Lauren Van Sickle, Providence community relations coordinator. The new policy will apply to all of Asante's 3,800 employees. Vinyard said he did not know how many workers use tobacco, but recent statistics indicate about 21 percent of adult Oregonians smoke cigarettes. He speculated that people who work in health care professions might be less likely to light up than the general public, but he acknowledged that the new policy will affect hundreds of people. "It could be that we'll lose a few employees who will choose to work elsewhere," he said. Asante will provide one-on-one counseling for workers who want to quit, and will provide free tobacco substitutes for 90 days. Patients will be asked not to use tobacco, too, Vinyard said. "For the very few who feel they need to smoke, we'll let them know up front what our policies are." The ban extends to patients at all of Asante's health care sites (including Three Rivers Community Hospital in Grants Pass) except Hearthstone, a skilled nursing center; and Genesis Recovery Center, which treats people who are struggling with drug and alcohol dependency. Vinyard said patients often stay at Hearthstone and Genesis for extended periods, and that banning tobacco use might be "too much of a burden for them." Vinyard said today's announcement, seven months before the ban takes effect, is intended to give employees ample time to take advantage of the smoking-cessation programs that Asante offers. Once the ban takes effect, workers who violate the policy will be subject to the same disciplinary action they could face for other violations of workplace policies. Enforcing the new rule will be tough, Vinyard said, but Asante will not hire tobacco police to implement it. "We're bound and determined to be respectful of people," he said. "Certainly we're not going to throw people off the campus. We'll ask them to respect the policy of non-smoking on our campus." People who come to visit patients and feel the need to smoke will be asked to leave the campus if they must light up, he said. Salem Hospital, which went tobacco-free in November 2005, has seen a relatively smooth transition, said Sherryll Johnson Hoar, a spokesperson for Salem Hospital Regional Health Services. "There was a lot of angst and fear (before the change)," Hoar said, "but in reality it's not as much a problem as people think." Hoar said the medical staff prepared in advance for the change by setting up a protocol that allowed patients who smoke to get nicotine patches. Visitors who smoke also were provided with nicotine gum or patches. Hoar said Salem hospital had not lost any patients because of its decision to go smoke-free. "The feedback we've gotten has been very positive," Hoar said. "We aren't going back (to the old designated smoking areas)." Vinyard said he hoped RVMC's experience would be much like Salem's. "Obviously there will be some difficulties along the way. "I suspect there will be more (problems) in January than February, and more in February than March. It'll eventually tail off." Reach reporter Bill Kettler at 776-4492 or by e-mail [email protected] Advertisement s Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2006 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. 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