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As of February 1, a Pennsylvania hospital will be enforcing a smoke-free policy for employees–on and off the job. They say they want to be a good example of health for their patients–as they should be–and smoking is certainly a good place to start. But what about other nasty health habits that aren’t so easy to test for? Will the hospital ban junk food, too? Will it ensure that all workers have gotten adequate sleep before working a shift? I’m all for putting the kibosh on smoking anywhere and everywhere possible, but I’m at least as worried about the other nasty health habits happening around the O.R.
Beginning next month, the hospital, called Geisinger health care, won’t hire smokers and will enforce the smoke-free policy using nicotine tests. A spokesperson for Geisinger told the Vancouver Sun:
Not only do we want to practice what we preach, but we also want our employees to feel healthy, we want our patients and visitors to feel that they are in a healthy environment. So it’s an overall commitment to the well-being of all those people.
And studies indicate that a smoke-free policy will also save the hospital money: The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says that smokers cost companies $3,391 annually in productivity loss and extra medical expenditures.
So other hospitals should do the same thing, right? I’m not so sure. Quitting smokers on your staff is a great move for PR, but the truth is that a lot of hospitals have much bigger problems than a handful of doctors who stupidly smoke. Many doctors and nurses work long shifts, cutting out time for adequate sleep and exercise. Hospital cafeteria food has a reputation for being abysmal; not just because of the taste. Nutritionally, options are often shameful. And it shows: A 2008 study found that nearly 54% of nurses were overweight or obese. None of that makes a hospital feel like a particularly “healthy environment.”
I can’t speak to the shift length or cafeteria offerings at Geisinger specifically, but before other hospitals jump to kick smokers off their payroll to be more “healthy,” I’d rather see an improvement in standards elsewhere.
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So being fat is ok, but smoking isn’t?
While I agree with what you are saying, smoking differs from the eating and sleep issues you used as examples. Second hand smoke has a direct effect on those around the smoker.
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Wow.
I don’t think employers have the right to police behaviors that do not affect on the job performance, which I don’t believe smoking at home has ever been shown to do. (I don’t have a problem, however, with breathalyzers for pilots, or drug tests for air traffic controllers, etc). There may be good reason to make sure your surgeon isn’t fidgetting because she needs a cigarette, but why can’t a hospital administrator or plumber smoke off site?
Can’t believe they are enforcing the policy with nicotine tests. (What about people using the patch to quit?)
I think it may make financial sense to recruit a nicotine free workforce, but the enforcement seems like a gross violation of civil liberties.
I agree– what people do on their personal time is their business, even if they’re smokers who work in medicine. It’s a personal habit that would have no effect on their ability to do their job. And I don’t see second-hand smoke as being a concern, since no one is allowed to light up inside a hospital or even near the entrance.