Come Friday, Sept. 1, Stevens Hospital will be doing some serious butt kicking.
On that day, Stevens will begin a total ban on smoking and all other tobacco use, making it the first Snohomish County hospital to do so, according to Bob Knowles, director of education and preventive care services at the Edmonds-based hospital.
The ban applies to patients, visitors, physicians, staff, contractors and anyone else who sets foot on the hospital campus. The campus includes Stevens Pavilion, Stevens Oncology Center and Stevens Radia Imaging Center.
Sidewalks and parking lots also are off-limits to smokers, as are cars – even with the windows rolled up.
The decision was approved by the hospital administration, board of commissioners and medical executive and psychiatric staff committees. Plans have been in the works since the beginning of the year.
The new policy, according to hospital officials, is out of concern for the health of all who use Stevens’ facilities, a desire to keep the air around the campus free from smoke’s chemical byproducts and the obligation of a health-care provider to promote a healthy community. Knowles said the policy is considered a continuation of the recent state law banning smoking in public places.
“The vast majority of the patient population doesn’t smoke,” Knowles said. He estimated 20-25 percent of staff does.
Nearby Northwest Hospital and Medical Center in North Seattle introduced a total smoking ban in January. That ban is so all-encompassing that employees cannot even smell of smoke, said Gayle Ward, vice president of clinical services at Northwest.
The policy “encountered a lot of resistance from staff, patients and families” but now is “as successful as I expected it to be,” Ward said.
Several years ago, Providence Everett Medical Center eased a smoking ban that included not hiring smokers due to an inability to find enough qualified non-smokers to fill key roles in nursing, radiation technology and other fields, according to Providence spokeswoman Cheri Russum. Smoking still is prohibited indoors and at places other than designated smoking areas at the Everett hospital.
For non-smokers who work at or visit Stevens, the ban will be a welcome addition, Knowles predicted. As for smokers, “I don’t think they are looking forward to it,” he said.
Signs explaining the policy soon will be posted throughout the campus. Security personnel will remind violators of the new rules. Violations by hospital employees will be handled in a way “consistent with other disciplinary processes,” Knowles said. For visitors, enforcement will not involve “heavy-handed technique,” he promised. “We certainly aren’t going to be escorting family members” off hospital property.
Patients will be offered nicotine-replacement therapy and smoking-cessation counseling. Dr. Tim Roddy, chief of the medical staff, said he doesn’t believe the policy will prompt patients who smoke to seek hospitalization elsewhere. “We get them on (nicotine-replacement) patches right away,” he said of smokers admitted to the hospital.
Some patients rely on nicotine-replacement products just during their hospital stay while others use them as a first step toward kicking the habit, other physicians said.
Staff and physicians have known for months the policy was in the works. Smokers who work at Stevens are being offered nicotine-replacement patches and nicotine gum at discount prices; about 50 employees reportedly have taken advantage of the offer.
Employee smoking-cessation classes and counseling also are available.
“I don’t necessarily think we’ll lose staff (over the policy),” Knowles said. “It’s worth putting up with the policy to work here.”
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