No butts about it

By Dale M. King
CITY EDITOR

When officials at West Boca Medical Center say the hospital has banned smoking totally, they mean it.

It doesn’t mean you can sneak a smoke by the back door.  You can’t find a “designated area” to puff.  You can’t even smoke in your car in the parking lot.

The tough, no-smoking policy went into effect Monday, said Linda-Jean Long, marketing director for the center.

“They have been planning this for months,” she said. Long told the Boca Raton News she knows of only one other hospital – in Palm Beach Gardens, another one owned by Tenet – that bans smoking entirely.

“I haven’t heard any complaints,” she said.

In announcing the ban, hospital officials declared: “No smoking will be permitted on any part of the premises, including smoking inside vehicles. “

Good Health

“The good health and well being of our community is our utmost concern,” said Ruth Schwarzkopf, chief nursing officer at West Boca Medical Center. “We are excited to promote West Boca Medical Center as a place of healing.  Even the effects of secondhand smoke are harmful, and we are happy to provide a healthy environment for our patients, visitors, employees and medical staff.”

The West Boca Medical Center Governing Board, Medical Executive Committee and a Smoking Cessation Committee were integral in the planning and execution of this initiative.

“The Surgeon General has shown that people who work in a smoke-free environment tend to have a fewer number of sick days and tend to have fewer number of respiratory diseases,” said Dr. Mark Adelman, head of the respiratory department and chairman of the governing board at West Boca Medical Center. “Those who do smoke and work in a smoke-free environment tend to smoke less and many are encouraged to stop smoking all together.” 

"At West Boca Medical Center, our number one goal is to improve the health status of not only our patients, but our employees, physicians, visitors and the surrounding community," said CEO Walt Mickens.
“We want to make quitting an obtainable goal to achieve. Of course we would like to make it as easy as possible so we are prepared to offer the tools and support needed.”

“Protecting our visitors from harmful secondhand smoke is also a key factor to this initiative,” he added.
 
He said secondhand smoke is classified as a “known human carcinogen” (cancer causing agent) by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. National Toxicology Program and the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), a branch of the World Health Organization.

Kick Habit

The hospital will help smokers who feel they can’t kick the habit.
“In order to help our employees take the first step to a smoke free lifestyle, we are providing them with six weeks of free nicotine replacement therapy,” said Cathy McCulloch, employee health R.N. “Employees are able to choose patches or gum.”

“We know choosing to quit is difficult,” said McCulloch, “and it is important we continue to offer our support.”

West Boca Medical Center, part of Tenet South Florida, is a 185-bed acute care hospital located at 21644 State Road 7 in Boca Raton.

Dale M. King can be reached at 561-549-0832 or at dking@bocanews.com.