Hospital properties set to become smoke-free zones

Looking to be a leader in the community and set a healthy example, Desert View Hospital is set to kick butts in the coming months.

Desert View and its off-site clinics will become tobacco-free beginning Monday, June 1. The ban includes tobacco use of any kind including cigarettes, cigars, e-cigarettes, vapor devices, and smokeless tobacco.

“Desert View Hospital is joining hospitals across Nevada and the nation in an effort to become tobacco-free. As a healthcare organization, we are committed to the health and safety of our employees and patients,” said Kelly Adams, Chief Executive Officer at Desert View Hospital. “We believe that we have a responsibility to take a leadership role on this major health issue and allowing people to use tobacco products on any of our properties defeats this purpose.”

Outside of the main campus, the other areas taking part in the ban include the outpatient physical therapy clinic at 1500 E. Highway 372, Suite F; each of the Mountain Valley Physicians Group locations, located at 330 S. Lola Lane, #200 and 3370 S. Highway 160, Suite #9; and the medical office buildings located near the hospital’s emergency department. DaVita Dialysis will also join the effort in being a tobacco-free campus.

The initiative will eliminate designated areas outside of Desert View Hospital where employees, patients and visitors are currently permitted to use tobacco products.

The ban will also be in effect on the fields and sidewalks surrounding the hospital and in parking lots of the hospital and clinics, including inside vehicles.

Desert View enacting the ban is part of a national and statewide effort to reduce the unhealthy effects of tobacco use on the community.

Tobacco use is the chief single avoidable cause of disease and premature death in our society, responsible for more than 480,000 deaths each year. More than 16 million Americans suffer from a disease caused by smoking.

“This tobacco-free initiative is a concrete way we can demonstrate our ongoing commitment to healthy living,” Adams said.

The hospital will hold a health fair on June 1 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the hospital’s main lobby to celebrate the tobacco ban initiative. The public is urged to attend to learn more about the dangers of tobacco use, options for smoking, quitting smoking and more.