Hospitals band together for campus-wide smoking bans

By The Associated Press

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By Beth Boehne

Story Created: May 25, 2008 at 10:26 AM EST

Story Updated: May 25, 2008 at 10:26 AM EST

Four northwestern Indiana hospitals are pledging to keep smokers off their campuses and away from doctors' offices and outpatient centers with a strict ban that starts later this year.

Saint Margaret Mercy's two campuses, Saint Anthony Medical Center in Crown Point, The Methodist Hospitals in Gary and Merrillville, and Franciscan Physicians Hospital in Munster plan to make their combined six hospital campuses entirely smoke-free by November.

Two other area hospitals already have similar bans in place.

Saint Margaret Mercy President Tom Gryzbek says the hospitals all felt the ban was appropriate, since smoking is a leading cause of patient deaths. The hospitals plan to provide smoking cessation classes to help employees kick the habit.

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