<< see all articles

Commitment: Making Hospital Campuses Tobacco-Free

Leading the way to healthier environments – inside and out – the 23 member hospitals of the Hospital Council of Northwest Ohio made a commitment to making their campuses tobacco-free. Effective January 1, 2008, all forms of tobacco use will not be permitted anywhere on the hospitals’ property.

Citing the responsibility health care organizations have to eliminate health hazards and promote healthy lifestyle choices, Hospital Council President & CEO W. Scott Fry said, “It is our hope that this collective approach involving 23 hospitals from 13 northwest Ohio counties will encourage other industries to follow suit.”

The 2008 implementation date acknowledges the preparation required to institute a cultural change of this magnitude. Each hospital will develop specific policy plans, along with strategies for communicating and enforcing its policies. Employees will be offered tobacco cessation services.

Patients will be encouraged to notify the admissions staff if they use tobacco. Physicians and care providers will work together to assure patients are comfortable without tobacco during their hospital stay, and to reduce the stress associated with nicotine withdrawal.

These healthcare providers, all affiliated with the Hospital Council of Northwest Ohio, have made the commitment to implement tobacco-free campus policies by January 1, 2008:
The Bellevue Hospital, Bellevue
Blanchard Valley Hospital, Findlay
Bluffton Hospital, Bluffton
Community Memorial Hospital, Hicksville
Firelands Regional Medical Center, Sandusky
Fisher-Titus Medical Center, Norwalk
Fulton County Health Center, Wauseon
Henry County Hospital, Napoleon
Magruder Hospital, Port Clinton
Memorial Hospital, Fremont
Mercy Healthcare Center, Toledo
Mercy Hospital of Defiance, Defiance
Mercy Hospital of Tiffin, Tiffin
Mercy Hospital of Willard, Willard
Paulding County Hospital, Paulding
St. Anne Mercy Hospital, Toledo
St. Charles Mercy Hospital, Oregon
St. Francis Health Care Centre, Green Springs
St. Luke’s Hospital, Maumee
St. Vincent Mercy Children’s Hospital, Toledo
St. Vincent Mercy Medical Center, Toledo
University of Toledo Medical Center, Toledo
Wood County Hospital, Bowling Green

next article>>