Published: November 20, 2009 06:11 am      

Woodward hospital has been declared a 'no smoking' zone

The smoke shelter at Woodward Regional Hospital no longer exists.

It has been taken down because it is a reminder of the past -- a time when employees at Woodward Regional stepped outside and gathered there to smoke cigarettes.

So said John Brown, facilities manager at Woodward Regional Hospital.

The shelter was also taken down because, as of Thursday, Woodward Regional Hospital is a tobacco free campus, he said.

No one -- including employees and visitors, and of course, patients -- is allowed to smoke in the parking lot, the premises around the hospital building or inside of it.

A hospital employee of 27 years who still smokes said she remembered when ash trays were allowed at the nurses stations.

“It’s going to be hard,” she said of the new smoking ban.

For the patients, doctors will offer nicotine patches, said hospital spokeswoman Lori Messenger. Visitors will be handed a tobacco free reminder card that asks them not to use tobacco products in the hospital building, grounds or parking lots. The card offers a free cup of coffee.

“We’ve been talking about this for six months,” Brown said. “We’ve offered three or four rounds of smoking cessation classes” to employees and the public in preparation for this day.

“But it’s hard to change,” he said. “It kind of sneaked up on the employees.”

Employees can still smoke, he said, but they have to clock out and leave the hospital campus to do it or simply cut back on their smoking.

There are several reasons why the hospital administration put the measure into effect, he said, but the main two involve providing a healthier environment and keeping in step with other parts of the country.

Brown cited Utah as a example.

“No public building in Utah allows smoking,” he said.

In addition, the Oklahoma Legislature, three years ago, passed a law preventing smoking within 25 feet of a public entrance, he said.

“At some point in the future, someone is going to say, ‘wow, somebody had the vision to see this,’” he said.