| Calhoun Health Services Going Tobacco-Free |
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By JOEL McNEECE Calhoun Health Services will become a tobacco-free campus in 2010. The hospital board voted last week to ban all tobacco products from hospital property effective Jan. 1, 2010. “We’ve never allowed smoking inside the building, so all we’re doing is extending it to the grounds,” said James Franklin, hospital administrator. A press release from the hospital stated that as a “healthcare organization dedicated to the promotion of health and wellness,” no person, including employees, medical staff, volunteers, students, vendors, visitors or patients will be permitted to use tobacco products on hospital grounds. The restriction on em-ployees will prohibit the use of tobacco products during paid work hours, meaning they may not use tobacco during breaks or in their vehicles if on company time. Franklin said the hospital will provide employees with education classes and necessary medications to help them quit smoking. He said the January effective date was approved to provide employees and others time to adjust to the new policy. The new policy is in line with a push by BlueCross BlueShield of Mississippi to get all Mississippi hospitals tobacco-free. “We believe that the places Mississippians go for health care must be healthy,” wrote Christopher Curro, a manager with BlueCross in a letter to Franklin. “In the near future, we will be requiring all network hospitals to be tobacco-free.” |