FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 18,
2016
Office:
(973) 972--8761
Mobile: (973) 634-8298
University
Hospital and Rutgers Biomedical Health Sciences
in
Newark Collaborate to Form a Smoke, Tobacco and Vapor-Free Campus
The
use of all smoke, tobacco and vapor-related products are
prohibited
effective on the date of the Great American Smokeout
Newark, NJ -- On November 17th, the date of the Great American
Smokeout, University Hospital and Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences joined
together to celebrate its first day
as a Smoke, Tobacco and Vapor-Free campus, effective on November 17.
The initiative is the
result of months of planning, with an overall focus of creating a healthier
environment at University Hospital and Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences
at Newark for employees, patients, visitors and the public at-large.
“As of today,
across our entire hospital campus, we are showing our employees, our patients
and their families, and all of the people who make our community great, that we
are truly health leaders, said John N. Kastanis, MBA, FACHE, President and CEO
of University Hospital. “By not
allowing people to smoke on the sidewalks in front of our buildings, in the
entryways, in our gardens and hospital grounds, and in our other outside areas,
we are sending a clear and urgent message that smoking tobacco is bad for your
health, and we are leading by example.” said Kastanis.
According to the American
Cancer Society, more than 40 million Americans who smoke cigarettes and use tobacco
remains the single largest preventable cause of disease and premature death in
the world. Although rates of smoking have dropped from 42% in 1965 to 17% in
2014, cigar, pipe, and hookah are other dangerous and addictive ways to smoke
tobacco are on the rise.
A program and
ribbon-cutting event was held on November 17th at 8:30 AM at the
Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey at University Hospital to celebrate
November 17th as the campus’ first day as a Smoke, Tobacco and
Vapor-Free Campus. Photos from the event are available here: http://bit.ly/2f7rhMl
The event included John N.
Kastanis, MBA, FACHE, President and CEO, University Hospital, Robert L. Johnson, FAAP, MD, The Sharon and Joseph Muscarelle
Endowed Dean, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, and Karen Blumfield, Esq.,
Executive Director of the Global Advisors on Smoke-free Policy (GASP). The program also included
Andrew Berman, MD, Professor and Vice Chair, Department of Medicine, Rutgers
New Jersey Medical School and Director, Division of Pulmonary Medicine,
University Hospital. Dr. Berman chaired the Steering Committee that oversaw the
implementation of the initiative, which included a multi-disciplinary committee
of faculty and staff.
Preparations for this
campus-wide initiative has been underway since April 2016 and November 17th at 12:01 AM reflects the first full day that both University Hospital and
Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences in Newark will be a smoke, tobacco and
vapor-free campus.
To encourage smokers to
quit smoking, employees, visitors and the public at-large will have the
opportunity to learn about University Hospital’s many smoking cessation
programs and meet with a smoking cessation counselor. Information about the hospital’s smoking
cessation counseling can be obtained by contacting the hospital at (973)
972-4300 or uhnj.org. All smoking cessation programs are open to the public.
From L-R: Alejandrina Canelo Villafana, MS,
CHES, Health Educator II, Ambulatory Care Center; Robert
L. Johnson, FAAP, MD, The Sharon and Joseph Muscarelle Endowed Dean, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School; Karen Blumfield,
Esq., Executive Director of the Global Advisors on Smoke-free Policy (GASP); Andrew Berman, MD, Professor and Vice
Chair, Department of Medicine, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School and Director,
Division of Pulmonary Medicine, University Hospital; Monica Hanna, MPH, CHES, Health
Educator-Healthy Heart Program and John N. Kastanis, MBA, FACHE, President and
CEO, University Hospital.
University Hospital is one of the nation’s leading academic medical
centers, and is the Level 1 Trauma Center for Northern New Jersey. Located at
University Heights in Newark, New Jersey, University Hospital is a principal
teaching hospital of Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences and a regional
resource for advanced services across many medical specialties. For more
information about University Hospital, please visit www.uhnj.org.
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