Memorial Health kicks the habit

Smoking a cigarette during breaks and at lunch won’t be an option for Memorial Health System employees starting Jan. 1 — even if they leave the hospital grounds.

But some question the legality of the strict anti-smoking policy the city-owned health care system is enacting for its 4,500 employees and all patients.

In three months, workers will no longer be able to smoke or use other tobacco products for the duration of their shifts — the majority of which last 12 hours, said Carlene Crall, vice president of human resources. She estimates up to 15 percent of the work force, about 700 employees, smokes. Patients also will be banned from smoking at any time during their hospitalization.

“We’re really talking about how employees present (themselves) when they report to work and come back from their lunch break. Patients and co-workers are impacted by the smell of smoke on people’s breath, skin and clothes. We can control what a person’s scent is, even on unpaid time, like lunch,” she said.

Free time is a point of contention. Memorial’s new nosmoking rule will apply to employee breaks, which are paid time, and a 30-minute lunch period, which is not paid. And employees are not allowed to arrive at work smelling of smoke.

Generally, employers have the right to set internal “condition of work” policies, which can include restrictions on personal appearance and body odor but normally does not apply to off-the-clock time, said Joseph Herrera, a compliance officer with the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment.

“The employee is entitled to receive a 30-minute meal period, and if the employer requires them to stay there on meal period and compensates them, they can require the employees to not smoke. But if the employer does not pay for that 30 minutes, the employee is allowed to leave the premises and pursue personal activities,” Herrera said.

Crall said even if Memorial employees leave the hospital grounds during breaks and lunch, they will be prohibited from smoking. Violation of the new policy will lead to disciplinary action, which could result in job termination, she said.

That could be a violation of Colorado’s Off-Duty Legal Activities Statute, said local attorney Steve Rupp of Rupp Law Office PC.

The law prohibits terminating an employee for lawful activities while off duty, Rupp said, and smoking in private and the public outdoors is lawful.

“There could be a potential problem in enforcing such a smoking ban during nonworking hours off hospital premises, such as lunchtime,” he said, “unless the employer can prove the restriction is a bona fide occupational requirement — such as Memorial would not be able to carry out its treatment regimen with employees who smell of smoke.”

Precisely Memorial’s argument.

“We’re a health care organization, and we want to promote good health,” Crall said. “And our professional appearance policies talk about the strong scents of lotions and perfumes as impacting patients, as well.”

In addition to returning to work smelling bad and setting a bad example, employees who smoke take longer breaks than their nonsmoking co-workers and have been a nuisance to neighbors, Crall said.

“We’re not mandating people stop smoking in their life. We’re saying when you’re working at Memorial, you can’t smoke any time during your work shift,” she said. “We think co-workers will report those that do — there are hard feelings in the workplace that people who smoke find a way to take breaks.”

Several medical campuses in the state are tobacco-free, including El Paso County Health Department and Porter Adventist Hospital in Denver. Both prohibit employees from smoking on break, but neither bans the activity during lunch.

“Our policy is that you will not smoke on duty and on campus, and you’re on duty except on your lunch hour. We felt we can’t dictate what they do on their lunch because they’re not getting paid," said Kelli Dahl, director of safety and security for Porter Adventist Hospital.

Since the ban began March 1, enforcing the policy during breaks has been difficult, Dahl said.

“We still have people going out to smoke on break, and we request written or verbal disciplinary action. It’s a work in progress to get employees to be compliant,” she said.

A smoking ban for 210 employees and the public at the El Paso County Health Department eliminated the issue of second-hand smoke near entrances and trash from cigarette butts, said Dan Martindale, health promotion division director.

“Employees understand as a public health department perception plays a large role with the community,” he said. “They can’t smoke on break, but if they want to take time on their lunch hour and smoke they can go off campus.”

Most companies making the move to eliminate tobacco at work give employees the chance to join smoking cessation programs or obtain a prescription for nicotine patches or pills. Porter Adventist is providing the tools free of charge for one year. Memorial is offering “low cost” options for medication or classes, said Chris Valentine, a spokesman.

Whether a tobacco-free work environment leads smokers to kick the habit is questionable, Martindale said.

“It’s not necessarily an incentive. We don’t tell employees they cannot smoke — they just can’t do it on break and at work,” he said.

But Sue Orcutt, owner of a real estate property management company in Colorado Springs, said she wouldn’t want a doctor who hasn’t had a cigarette in 10 hours attending to her if she were hospitalized.

“That would be the only thing on his mind,” she said Wednesday while smoking in Memorial Hospital Central’s designated smoking area west of the building.

She predicts hospital employees will resort to sneaking off “like school kids” to smoke.

“Lunch is your personal time,” she said. “If they’re going to that extreme, shame on them.”

SMOKING POLICY

Memorial’s policy as of Jan. 1:

- Bans patients from smoking during a hospital stay, with the exception of patients who are in the end-of-life stage. Pre-admission check-in will give smokers a choice of nicotine replacement products. Patients near death can receive a waiver to go with a family member or friend to a smoking hut. No staff will be allowed to escort patients to the hut, which will be located on hospital grounds. Patients who sneak a smoke will receive a reminder that the campus is tobacco-free.

- Prohibits employees from smoking cigarettes, pipes and cigars and chewing tobacco during their work shift, including breaks and lunch, even if they leave the campus. Violation can lead to disciplinary action.