Smoking will be off-limits outside Lincoln hospitals

 114 comment(s)  
 E-mail Story
 Print Story
  Share

 digg it!
 Facebook
 del.icio.us
Seed Newsvine
Fark It
Reddit

Text Size: 

Tools Sponsor

By MARK ANDERSEN / Lincoln Journal Star

Outdoor smoking areas will disappear at Lincoln’s three largest hospitals when the Times Square crystal ball falls this New Year’s Day.

Canvas smoke tents will come down. Designated smoking areas in parking garages will disappear.

No smoking or tobacco will be allowed for doctors, nurses or patients. No quick puffs outside front doors or anywhere else on campus.

[+]Enlarge

BryanLGH Medical Center East (LJS file)

BryanLGH Medical Center East (LJS file)

The lone exception will be an addiction treatment program.

Officials from both BryanLGH Medical Center campuses, Saint Elizabeth Regional Medical Center and Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital jointly announced their new policy Tuesday.

“As health care providers, our mission is to provide healing care and provide healthy lifestyle choices,” said Craig Ames of BryanLGH.

Officials said it was important the hospitals take this step together. They began discussions last fall.

The big three join the Nebraska Heart Hospital, which banned tobacco products Jan. 1, saying it needed to walk the talk of healthy living.

Paul Dongilli of Madonna said the new bans would create healthier hospital atmospheres.

“The effects of secondhand smoke are well documented,” he said. Smoking also slows recovery from illness.

Madonna spokeswoman Molly Nance said the ban would include the hospital’s long-term patients and permanent residents.

Ames said the Independence Center at BryanLGH West was excluded because patients there already are dealing with alcohol and chemical dependency.

“It’s difficult to deal with multiple addictions at one time,” he said.

The ban will be observed in the hospital’s mental health area.

Despite the defeat of a statewide smoke ban in the Unicameral this year, the policy underscores how much things have changed since the 1950s when ads proclaimed: “More doctors smoke Camels than any other cigarette.”

Saint Elizabeth executive Charlotte Liggett recalled the 1970s, when nurses would stop in the break room for a smoke on their way to duty.

The Nebraska Hospital Association said almost a third of Nebraska hospitals have banned tobacco on their campuses, and half of the remainder plan to go tobacco-free within one year. The association estimates state residents pay $1 billion every year for medical expenses and lost productivity related to smoking.

The new policy affects roughly 1,000 employee smokers, who will all have access to quit-smoking programs. It also will affect about 10,000 patients and their families annually, based on estimates from hospital tax statements.

Ames of BryanLGH said the hospitals plan to enforce the ban. They expect most smokers will comply.

J. Hoffman of Nebraska Heart  Hospital has become the primary enforcer at his organization.

Regardless of how many signs are placed, he said, an occasional visitor will wander outside the hospital door for a smoke. Once they’re informed the policy is to protect patient and employee health, “We haven’t had a complaint.”

Tom Burnell, CEO of Nebraska Heart, said some employees chose to quit smoking once the ban began. He provided no numbers.

Last year, the Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department noted that about one-fourth of county smokers had quit since Lincoln banned indoor public smoking.

The Lincoln Surgical Hospital also is smoke free, CEO Robb Linafelter said Tuesday, although enforcement is spotty.

Many families light up as they  walk into the parking lot. There’s no designated smoking area, but employees sit in their cars, he said.

Bob Lanik of Saint Elizabeth said the response from within his hospital had been one of applause.

He passed along comments from one smoker surveyed in anticipation of the ban.

The employee wrote: “I’m embarrassed. It’s a disgusting habit. This will make me quit.”

Reach Mark Andersen at 473-7238 or mandersen@journalstar.com.