Rooks County Health Center News
Rooks County Health Center Implements Tobacco-Free Campus
Rooks County Health Center is going tobacco-free on April 1, 2007. As of that date, no tobacco use of any kind will be permitted inside or outside of any of our facilities. This initiative also will include the elimination of designated areas outside our facilities where employees, patients and visitors currently use tobacco products.
Rooks County Health Center has joined hospitals across Kansas in an effort to become tobacco-free. As a health care organization, committed to the health and safety of our patients, we have a responsibility to take a leadership role on this major health issue. We have a further responsibility to treat the whole patient, both mentally and physically. Allowing patients to use tobacco products while in our care defeats this purpose.
We are asking for your support in our tobacco-free initiative. Our decision to go tobacco-free is not an attempt to “force” anyone to quit smoking. Rather, the tobacco-free initiative is a concrete way we can demonstrate our ongoing commitment to health living. Various programs have been offered to staff if they are interested in quitting smoking full time.
Tobacco is the cause of death for 3,800 Kansans every year and is the root cause of many illnesses and lost productivity. Tobacco use in and around hospitals poses health and safety risks for patients, employees and visitors.
We appreciate your help and support as we head toward April 1, 2007. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact Julie Price CEO or Kathy Ramsay, RN Communication and Development Director