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All 3 Rockford hospitals snuff out smoking
By Hillary Wundrow
Daily News staff writer
ROCKFORD - Those wanting a cigarette outside any Rockford hospital will have to leave the neighborhood for a puff.
Rockford's major health systems announced that their facilities, campuses and adjacent residential sidewalks will be smoke-free as of Nov. 16.
Representatives from SwedishAmerican Health System, Rockford Health System, OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center and Van Matre HealthSouth Rehabilitation Hospital announced the change during a press conference held at the Rock River Valley YMCA Wednesday.
Hospital officials hope the measure will promote health, increase employee productivity and reduce health care costs. Nov. 16 coincides with the Great American Smokeout, a national initiative which encourages people to cease smoking for a day.
Smoking and the use of tobacco products will be prohibited inside and outside the buildings. The new rule will apply to personal vehicles parked on any of the health systems' property. All employees, physicians, medical staff, volunteers, patients, students, contracted personnel, vendors, visitors and tenants will be subject to punitive measures for smoking.
Hospital employees will be banned from smoking on sidewalks and lawns across the street from campuses.
“We are trying to be somewhat consistent and have a good neighbor policy,” said Wester Wuori, director of marketing and public relations at Rockford Health System. “We don't want this to impact our neighbors. We don't want employees standing in someone's front yard having a smoke or in their cars driving away and smoking.”
Employing nearly 10,000 people and treating tens of thousands of patients each year, Wuori said the hospital needed to set an example. Many people don't realize, Wuori said, the devastating effects of smoking.
According to the most recent data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, more than 440,000 people die each year from smoking-related diseases - more than all alcohol, cocaine, crack, heroin, homicide, suicide, car crash, fire and AIDS deaths combined.
By adopting the ban, the hospitals hope to send the message that good health and health care do not include the use of tobacco.
Wuori admits the change will be challenging for smokers, especially during tense or worrisome hospital visits.
“The majority of people that come to the hospital are visitors or patients. Unless someone is having a baby or visiting someone having a baby, the person is probably in a stressful situation,” Wuori said.
With eight months to prepare for the ban, Wuori said the hospitals will be fine tuning their individual policies and finding ways to help people transition. Special cessation programs may be provided and nicotine substitutes, such as gum, patches and lozenges, may also be available for sale at the different facilities.
Departments including human resources, public relations and communication, safety and security, grounds and engineering will help enforce the policy. Wuori said the individual hospital administrations will decide on punitive measures and how much to charge for citations.
“We will work with physicians and their office staff to notify patients of the ban before they are admitted to the hospital,” Wuori said.
Numerous hospitals across Illinois, and the nation, have become smoke-free in recent years, including Advocate Lutheran General, Loyola Medical Center and Northwestern Memorial Hospital.
Beloit medical facilities, however, still allow smoking at designated areas outside the buildings.
“There is no smoking in the facility and our employees have a special smoking space that's been provided away from the building where they can smoke. We don't have any plans to make any changes at this point,” said Marlene Erickson, assistant administrator at the Beloit Clinic.
After some employees were smoking at a picnic table outside the door, the smoking area was moved away from the building. Since the new policy, Erickson said that no complaints have been made.
Beloit Memorial Hospital has not allowed smoking in the hospital since the 1980s.
Sarah Starmer, community relations specialist at the hospital, said the hospital was one of the first in the state to go smoke-free, but to make the entire hospital campus smoke-free would be difficult.
She noted the hospital grounds encompass 25 acres. If people wanted to smoke, they would have to travel quite a distance to get off the hospital grounds. Also, it would be difficult to enforce a no-smoking policy on such a large area.
“Out administrative team looked at it and they decided it would require an enormous enforcement effort,” she said.
Rockford's major health systems announced that their facilities, campuses and adjacent residential sidewalks will be smoke-free as of Nov. 16.
Representatives from SwedishAmerican Health System, Rockford Health System, OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center and Van Matre HealthSouth Rehabilitation Hospital announced the change during a press conference held at the Rock River Valley YMCA Wednesday.
Hospital officials hope the measure will promote health, increase employee productivity and reduce health care costs. Nov. 16 coincides with the Great American Smokeout, a national initiative which encourages people to cease smoking for a day.
Smoking and the use of tobacco products will be prohibited inside and outside the buildings. The new rule will apply to personal vehicles parked on any of the health systems' property. All employees, physicians, medical staff, volunteers, patients, students, contracted personnel, vendors, visitors and tenants will be subject to punitive measures for smoking.
Hospital employees will be banned from smoking on sidewalks and lawns across the street from campuses.
“We are trying to be somewhat consistent and have a good neighbor policy,” said Wester Wuori, director of marketing and public relations at Rockford Health System. “We don't want this to impact our neighbors. We don't want employees standing in someone's front yard having a smoke or in their cars driving away and smoking.”
Employing nearly 10,000 people and treating tens of thousands of patients each year, Wuori said the hospital needed to set an example. Many people don't realize, Wuori said, the devastating effects of smoking.
According to the most recent data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, more than 440,000 people die each year from smoking-related diseases - more than all alcohol, cocaine, crack, heroin, homicide, suicide, car crash, fire and AIDS deaths combined.
By adopting the ban, the hospitals hope to send the message that good health and health care do not include the use of tobacco.
Wuori admits the change will be challenging for smokers, especially during tense or worrisome hospital visits.
“The majority of people that come to the hospital are visitors or patients. Unless someone is having a baby or visiting someone having a baby, the person is probably in a stressful situation,” Wuori said.
With eight months to prepare for the ban, Wuori said the hospitals will be fine tuning their individual policies and finding ways to help people transition. Special cessation programs may be provided and nicotine substitutes, such as gum, patches and lozenges, may also be available for sale at the different facilities.
Departments including human resources, public relations and communication, safety and security, grounds and engineering will help enforce the policy. Wuori said the individual hospital administrations will decide on punitive measures and how much to charge for citations.
“We will work with physicians and their office staff to notify patients of the ban before they are admitted to the hospital,” Wuori said.
Numerous hospitals across Illinois, and the nation, have become smoke-free in recent years, including Advocate Lutheran General, Loyola Medical Center and Northwestern Memorial Hospital.
Beloit medical facilities, however, still allow smoking at designated areas outside the buildings.
“There is no smoking in the facility and our employees have a special smoking space that's been provided away from the building where they can smoke. We don't have any plans to make any changes at this point,” said Marlene Erickson, assistant administrator at the Beloit Clinic.
After some employees were smoking at a picnic table outside the door, the smoking area was moved away from the building. Since the new policy, Erickson said that no complaints have been made.
Beloit Memorial Hospital has not allowed smoking in the hospital since the 1980s.
Sarah Starmer, community relations specialist at the hospital, said the hospital was one of the first in the state to go smoke-free, but to make the entire hospital campus smoke-free would be difficult.
She noted the hospital grounds encompass 25 acres. If people wanted to smoke, they would have to travel quite a distance to get off the hospital grounds. Also, it would be difficult to enforce a no-smoking policy on such a large area.
“Out administrative team looked at it and they decided it would require an enormous enforcement effort,” she said.
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