Alta Vista Implements Tobacco-Free Campus Policy

(Las Vegas, NM) -  Alta Vista Regional Hospital is going tobacco-free on January 1, 2010.  After this time, no tobacco use of any kind will be permitted – inside or outside – on hospital property and hospital owned clinics.  This initiative will include the elimination of designated areas outside Alta Vista where employees, patients and visitors are currently permitted to use tobacco products.  Alta Vista will prohibit smoking in all areas of the main hospital campus, including the grounds, the parking lots, Alta Vista Internal Medicine on Seventh Street, Alta Vista Family Medicine on Mills Avenue and University Avenue. 

“As a healthcare organization, we are committed to the health and safety of our employees, volunteers, visitors and patients,” says Richard Grogan, chief executive officer at Alta Vista.  “We believe that we have a responsibility to take a leadership role on this major health issue, and establishing our entire campus as tobacco-free firmly supports that belief.”

Cigarette smoking is the leading preventable cause of death in America, accounting for more than 440,000 deaths each year, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Cigarette smokers have a higher risk of developing fatty buildups in arteries, several types of cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and is the root cause of many illnesses and lost productivity. The US Surgeon General has confirmed that exposure to secondhand tobacco smoke is a serious health hazard and that there is no risk-free level of exposure. Tobacco use in and around hospitals poses health and safety risks for patients, employees and visitors.

The hospital’s decision to go tobacco-free is not an attempt to force anyone to quit using tobacco products. Rather, the tobacco-free initiative is a concrete way to demonstrate our ongoing commitment to healthy living.

Smoking cessation information will be provided to any patient identified as a smoker. This includes information about nicotine patches and gum and phone numbers to call for programs outside of the hospital after discharge. Smoking cessation information is also available to staff, volunteers and physicians through the Employee Health department.