Sigmund Freud, M.D., died of oral cancer caused by cigar smoking.
Carmela Coyle, president and CEO of the Maryland Hospital Association, writes in Hospital Impact about some hospitals in that state that have banned the hiring of tobacco users. As she notes, some other providers in the nation, such as Cleveland Clinic, Baylor Health System and WellSpan, have done the same thing.
They’re on to something, she writes: “From a public relations perspective, it’s tough to preach smoking cessation to patients and the community when hospital employees, who, in this new world of community partnerships, serve in many ways as hospital representatives, are smokers themselves. More importantly, however, is that the mindset of hospital executives and trustees is changing, as hospitals shift from fee-for-service payment models to those built on a foundation of population-health management. This new zeitgeist is one of abiding responsibility, for every single life in a hospital’s care. Its employees are no exception.”
