North Fulton Regional Hospital is making the commitment to become tobacco free in 2010.  This announcement was made during a local press conference at the hospital on the day of the Great American Smokeout, November 19^th.  Those in attendance at and speaking for the smokeout initiative included North Fulton Regional Hospital CEO Debbie Keel, Pulmonologist and Medical Director of Critical Care Dean Karampelas, MD, City Councilman and NFRH Board Member Jerry Orlans, representatives of The American Cancer Society, and several members of North Fulton Regional Hospital’s staff.

“As the leader of a hospital, it is my duty to ensure that we are setting an example in the community,” North Fulton Regional Hospital CEO Debbie Keel explained.  “We can’t just talk about good health; we have to go a step further and show that we are practicing what we preach.”

           While the hospital has had plans to become tobacco free for several months, the public announcement came just a few days after the City of Roswell banned smoking in all city parks.  This ordinance puts Roswell at the head of the curve in the state of Georgia, which does not have a stat-wide ban on smoking.

As of November 2009, 24 states have enacted statewide bans on smoking in all enclosed public places, including bars and restaurants.  Georgia currently bans smoking in restaurants where persons under 18 years of age may enter, but allows most anywhere else either to designate smoking areas indoors or allow smoking freely; local governments in Georgia can and have passed stricter smoking bans than the state.

The decission to become a tobacco-free campus will affect anyone making use of North Fulton Regional Hospital grounds.  To help with this transition, physicians and hospital staff will make various resources available to employees (including patches, nicotine gum, smoking cessation programs, and more) as well as patients.  This will involve significant education leading up to the day of the tobacco-free switch.  Hospital employees have already begun this education process, reaching out to emergency services personnel, physicians, and other key targets.

For more information about North Fulton Regional Hospital’s plans to go tobacco-free in 2010, please call the Community Relations Department at 770-751-2867.  See the following pages for more information related to smoking risks, statistics, and more.

North Fulton Regional Hospital (NFRH), part of Tenet Georgia, is a 202-bed, acute-care hospital located on Highway 9, Alpharetta Highway, in Roswell.  Opened in 1983, NFRH serves North Fulton and surrounding counties through its team of over 1000 employees, 400 staff physicians and 200 volunteers.  NFRH is a state-designated Level II trauma center and provides a continuum of services through its centers and programs, including neurosciences, orthopedics, rehabilitation, surgical services, bariatric surgical weight loss, gastroenterology and oncology.  The hospital is fully accredited and also is certified as a Primary Stroke Center by the Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, the nation’s oldest and largest hospital accreditation agency.

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