Effective as of September 4, Huguley Memorial Medical Center is now a tobacco-free campus. Outdoor smoking areas have been replaced by additional landscaping at the hospital, medical office buildings, Huguley Fitness Center and Huguley Imaging Center. Several aids are available to patients and employees who want to quit smoking, and several employees have already stopped smoking.
Previously, no smoking was permitted in the buildings, but smoking was allowed in designated outdoor areas. Huguley launched a “Let’s Clear the Air” campaign that began in June to prepare for the tobacco-free environment.
“As health care providers, we see first-hand the impact of smoking on the health of our community, and we are compelled to demonstrate leadership on this important health issue. We encourage our patients, visitors and staff to adopt a healthy lifestyle and reduce their risk of many cancers and heart and lung disease,” explained Tammy Collier, Huguley Memorial Medical Center’s senior vice president of patient care services.
Four employees in Huguley’s information systems department, Randy Siden, Scott Weldon, Steve Poulson, and Bill Rolston, had 118 years of smoking between them. Now, they have successfully quit. Mr. Rolston, who quit May 1, says, “I’ve already noticed some health benefits. When I was smoking, a brisk walk from one end of the hospital to another would leave me winded, but now I can walk much farther without an effort.”
Huguley employees who smoke are offered medication support, nicotine replacement patches, smoking cessation literature, and social support. Patients are informed at admission that Huguley is a smoke and tobacco-free campus. Patients are encouraged to use their hospitalization as an opportunity to stop smoking. To make their stay more comfortable, they will have medication support and nicotine replacement therapy available to them. Nicotine replacement patches are currently available to anyone without a prescription in the hospital’s gift shop.
“Quitting smoking is the most important step a person can take to improve his or her health. The medical center’s decision to completely eliminate tobacco from its campus exemplifies its commitment to improve the well-being of our community,” Mrs. Collier continued.
Smoking is the most preventable cause of death and disability from a number of diseases including lung cancer, emphysema and cardiovascular diseases. Smoking accounts for at least 30 percent of all cancer deaths and is associated with conditions ranging from colds and allergies to asthma and chronic bronchitis. Second-hand smoke puts nonsmokers at risk for the same illnesses. Also, smoking is the leading cause of fires in health care facilities.