Sapphire magazine Stevenson Memorial Hospital smoke free

Leave your smokes in the car if you plan on visiting Stevenson Memorial Hospital.
As of July 11, the entire facility is smoke free - and that includes the building, parking lot and surrounding grounds.
It doesn't take a team of scientists, administrators, or bureaucrats to explain why a hospital has chosen to go smoke free.
It only takes a little common sense.
Let's face it, we all know smoking is bad for you, and it's also bad for everyone else who comes in contact with second hand smoke.
That's why Stevenson has taken the initiative and eliminated smoking entirely on hospital property.
"We are in the business of health," explains Karen Maisonneuve, Stevenson's Manager of Human Resources and Volunteers. " With all the recent media information about second hand some and now third hand smoke, the intitiative aligns with our health care strategy of delivering quality health care to our patients through disease prevention and education."
Karen is also the chair of the Smoke Free Committee - a group that mapped out the path to a smoke free facility.
They created an action plan that made the transition to a smokeless campus a lot easier for visitors, patients, and hospital employees by phasing in the plan rather than going cold turkey and suddenly planting a sign and changing the rules.
Most of the hospitals in the province have already had a smoking ban on their property for quite some time.
But you have to give the Smoke Free Committee a gold star for their approach to implementing a strategy that might not be popular with everyone.
It's a tough habit to kick. And for those poeple who can't wait for a break to slip outside and light up, finding a substitute for that five minute nicotine rush may take some time.
Manager of Paramedical and Emergency Services at Stevenson, Angela Trevivian, has already experienced a change to a smokeless environment having previously led the smoke free committee at Southlake Health Regional Health Centre in Newmarket.
"There are few opportunities in health care to be preventative," Angela explains. "One of the greatest ways to prevent illness is not smoking. We are hoping to encourage a smoke free environment."
A Wellness Committee was formed at the hospital and one of the ideas that came from their meetings was to establish a no smoking policy.
But they also took into consideration that an initiative that may not be popular with everyone would best be implemented with a strategy that included helping smokers cope with the policy and at the same time provide some assistance in changing your lifestyle - at least while you're still at work.
"It has taken us 18 months," Angela says of the time it took from the idea stage of the initiative to the final result. "These type of campaigns are far more successful with a lot of lead time. You want a lot of time to allow your staff and visitors to know and get prepared."
Some hospitals tried to introduce a new smoking policy on short notice but met with mixed results when they tried rush forward with the new plan.
So Stevenson provided a lot of help for people who want to kick the habit without having it turn into some kind of nerve wracking battle with your cigarettes.
For hospital employees that extends to benefits and includes all sorts of information and help with getting through your day without lighting up including such simple things as the patch or nicotine gum.
The hospital pharmacy is actively involved in helping out.
And hospital staff is trained to help and inform patients who will find themselves in a situation where flicking your lighter is not an option.
Keeping in mind that the hospital does have neighbors, the Committee worked with the Town to have the parks and public land close to the hospital placed under a non-smoking by-law to avoid having groups gather on the corner for a quick smoke and possibly leaving cigarette butts on the neighbor's lawn.
Since the new policy went into effect there has been a positive reaction from most people who understand why smoking and hospitals don't mix.
"I hear more positive comments than negative, for sure," Angela says.
And considering the long terms costs that smoking related illness places on the health care system, butting out is the best solution for everyone.