WellStar is 2 Weeks Away from Becoming a Tobacco-Free Environment - New Policy Starts Jan. 1, 2012

As you know, a decision was made last year to become a completely tobacco-free environment at all WellStar facilities by Jan. 1, 2012. This process began with the implementation of the Absence from the Unit procedure in Feb. 2011, which restricts patients from leaving their units for non-therapeutic reasons, such as smoking.

The next step in the journey will be the implementation of the Tobacco-Free Environment policy (No. 3075) effective Jan. 1, 2012. This policy prohibits the use of tobacco products by anyone, anywhere on WellStar facilities. (Residents of the WellStar hospice facilities, nursing homes and assisted-living facilities are excluded from this policy.)

As a healthcare organization, we know the detrimental effects of smoking and use of tobacco products. Cigarette smoking accounts for nearly one of every five deaths each year in the United States. It increases the risk of coronary heart disease by two to four times; stroke by two to four times; men developing lung cancer by 23 times and women by 13 times; and dying from chronic obstructive lung diseases (such as chronic bronchitis and emphysema) by 12 to 13 times.

For these reasons, WellStar believes it is important that we set an example and protect the safety and health of all those who work in or visit our facilities by becoming tobacco-free. This is also part of a major wellness initiative to improve the health of our team members.

Over the past few months, we have been preparing our facilities and our team members to make this transition. This included new signage at our facilities, eliminating our smoking pavilions, making our community aware of our initiative, developing scripting and processes for dealing with visitors who use tobacco and, most importantly, helping our team members who use tobacco products kick the habit.

We have provided tobacco-using team members with a wide variety of resources to ease their transition. These resources included traditional cessation classes, nicotine replacement therapy, peer support groups, one-on-one assistance and much more.

Everyone’s support is needed in order to make this initiative successful. Thank you for helping us create a healthier environment for our System and the communities we serve.