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Presbyterian Hospital of Allen says no more smoking, tobacco use
By Staff Reports
Presbyterian Hospital of Allen, part of Texas Health Resources (THR) n the largest health care system in North Texas n will prohibit the use of tobacco products effective today. The policy will apply to all THR facilities.
According to a news release issued last week, smoking and smoke-free tobacco will be banned at every property owned by THR, including Presbyterian, Harris Methodist and Arlington Memorial hospitals. The policy applies to employees, patients, physicians and visitors and prohibits tobacco use in hospital buildings, parking lots and outdoor areas. It also applies to smoking in personal vehicles on hospital campuses.
Cigarette smoking is the single most preventable cause of premature death in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control.
“By making its hospitals completely tobacco free, THR is addressing the No. 1 health risk today,” said Douglas D. Hawthorne, CEO of THR. “As the leading health care provider in North Texas, THR has a responsibility to promote healthy living to all members of the community. We cannot convince others of the need to eliminate smoking without becoming a model ourselves. It is the right thing to do.”
“The hospital had one smoking area in front of the facility that resembled a bus stop,” said Meredith Shapiro, communications manager for Presbyterian Hospital of Allen.
Shaprio said the first hospital in the THR system to go smoke-free was the location in Arlington where the city has become “very strict on smoking.”
Sheila McKinney, president of Presbyterian Hospital of Allen, said she sees it as a sign of the times and an opportunity for the Allen campus to benefit all who visit it.
“We see it as really demonstrating our commitment to providing a healthy environment for our patients, the community as a whole as well as our employees and medical staff,”
McKinney said she knew there would be issues in going forward with the change, but the hospital staff would help those who had trouble with the adjustment with their treatment options.
“There will be challenges, but we will confront those challenges one-on-one as they happen,” she said. “We will work with those people in a caring and compassionate manner because we realize it is an addiction.”
She also said it was good that now the hospital addressed concerns of those who had asked for years why smoking was still allowed on campus.
Cigarette smoke causes an estimated 438,000 premature deaths each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control. The surgeon general announced in June that second-hand smoke causes 35,000 n 45,000 deaths annually from heart disease and another 3,000 deaths from lung cancer in nonsmokers.
Nonsmokers exposed to second-hand smoke at home or at work increase their risk of developing heart disease by 25-30 percent and lung cancer by 20-30 percent.
“We realize this will not be an easy process for those who use tobacco, and we are receptive to their concerns,” Hawthorne said. “We will do everything we can to provide them with the tools and support to make this transition to a tobacco-free campus as easy as possible.”
THR offers tobacco cessation and treatment resources to employees and their families at no charge. Programs offered include Be Healthy THR and Quit for Life, a program of Free and Clear, which has specialized in helping quit tobacco for more than 20 years. Free and Clear will offer trained professionals to assist employees in developing a personalized quitting plan.
The following are comments from the readers.
In no way do they represent the view of Starlocalnews.com
In no way do they represent the view of Starlocalnews.com
Pete wrote on Nov 14, 2007 10:50 PM:
" Good for THR. All hospitals should do the same thing. And politicians should take note and help protect non-smokers from the know hazards of breathing second hand smoke. "
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