Hospital smoking banIn 1992, from this day, a hospital without a policy of no-smoking indoors would risk losing accreditation by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO). That would put their Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements in jeopardy. The smoke-free environment, mandated for accreditation by the Commission, was for the health of the patients. This was the first U.S. industry-wide ban on smoking in the workplace. Since smoking is the nation's number one cause of preventable disease and death, according to the Centers for Disease Control, this landmark effort removed the contradiction of cigarette smoking and a hospital's mission for health A study showed that by 1994, more than 96% of U.S. hospitals complied with the standard, and 41% were more stringent.«[Image: Graphic from a 1990 poster used at Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, below which was printed text of their no-smoking policy.] |
