Care For PA

While most hospitals have long banned smoking indoors, hospitals across Pennsylvania are taking their commitment to the health of their communities to the next level by banning smoking outdoors as well. On hospital campuses across the commonwealth, lighting up is now off-limits--banished from porticos, walkways, even the parking areas and loading docks.

As health care providers and cornerstones of their communities, hospitals say they feel obligated to promote healthy lifestyles and protect patients, visitors, and employees from second-hand smoke, so they're taking a public stand against tobacco. "We have an obligation to provide a healthier environment for everyone,�? says Sister Romaine Niemeyer, SCC, president and CEO of Holy Spirit Health System in Camp Hill. Holy Spirit was among five south-central Pennsylvania hospitals that announced a move to a tobacco-free campus last fall.

The pioneer was the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, which went smoke-free in 1987. It was on its own for a long time. The U.S. Surgeon General's 2006 update on "The Health Consequences of Involuntary Exposure to Tobacco Smoke�? was a likely impetus for change. "Secondhand smoke is not a mere annoyance. It is a serious health hazard that can lead to disease and premature death in children and nonsmoking adults,�? said Surgeon General Vice Admiral Richard H. Carmona, M.D., M.P.H., F.A.C.S., at the report's release.

"If not the health care community, who else? We want to be the leader in this movement,�? said Michael Hady, vice president of business development at Memorial Hospital in York. Memorial Hospital has had a tobacco-free policy since November 2006.

"We know the health benefits of not smoking, and we are joining many other hospitals across the commonwealth who are going tobacco-free in an effort to help mold better health habits,�? said Sue Reinke, vice president of human resources and chair of Lewistown Hospital's Smoke-Free Committee. The hospital moved to a tobacco-free campus last month.

"Every parent that quits smoking is a victory for child health,�? says Roger A. Oxendale, president and CEO of Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC). The hospital, along with all of UPMC's facilities, will be tobacco-free on July 1.

These hospitals, and many others across the state, are part of a trend. Other entities, including school districts, airports, and restaurants, have voluntarily established a variety of policies restricting smoking. Some municipalities have even gone a step further by establishing local ordinances to ban smoking in certain areas (such as workplaces, restaurants, and bars), including some that ban it altogether in any public place.

Governor Rendell wants to take the movement one step further. In January, he released his "Prescription for Pennsylvania,�? which among other things, seeks to make all Pennsylvania workplaces, restaurants, and bars smoke-free. In addition, Senate Bill 246 (also known as the Clean Indoor Air Act) was introduced in January. The bill seeks a statewide ban of smoking in public places. Both would apply to hospitals.

Both Senate Bill 246 and the governor's desire to ban smoking have received support from Pennsylvania's hospital community. "I congratulate those hospitals that have already adopted tobacco-free policies and encourage others to do so as well,�? said Carolyn F. Scanlan, president and CEO of The Hospital & Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania. The association recently encouraged all of its nearly 250 members to adopt tobacco-free policies and has provided a lengthy list of how-to resources on its website.

"Pennsylvania hospitals are not only setting the standard as places of clinical excellence,�? said Scanlan. "They also are setting the standard as places of wellness, not only for patients, employees, and visitors, but for entire communities as well.�?

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