Hospital to revisit smoking strategy

FLORENCE - Visitors may be allowed to smoke in the small park on Alabama Street instead of in the streets of the nearby neighborhood if the Eliza Coffee Memorial Hospital board of directors approves.

Jody Pigg, interim ECM president and chief executive officer, had originally announced that the park, which is a short distance from the main and emergency room entrances, would be used as a designated smoking area, but decided to bring the idea to the full board Monday for approval, hospital spokesman Tom Whetstone said.

Pigg also wants to determine if there are other viable solutions to the issue of smokers congregating in the streets around the emergency room and in front of neighbors' homes.

Once the hospital's smoking ban went into effect Oct. 1, smokers migrated to areas along Water Street and even up to the corner of Alabama Street and Riverview Drive.

Bridges Crawford, who lives at the corner of Water Street and Riverview Drive, contacted hospital officials, Florence Mayor Bobby Irons and police after smokers visiting the hospital began congregating in the street near her Riverview Drive home and occasionally in her yard, leaving behind cigarette butts and fast-food wrappers.

In an e-mail to the TimesDaily, Pigg said that while the park is ECM property, it is not physically connected to any other hospital property. Its potential use as a smoking area could allow ECM to remain in compliance with the city's new smoking ordinance that prohibits smoking at public health care facilities.

Pigg said his plan to use the park would eliminate the need for hospital visitors to stand in nearby roadways to smoke.

Whetstone said the hospital never intended to create a problem for its neighbors when it prohibited smoking on hospital grounds.

When she heard about the idea, Crawford said she was appreciative, but was concerned that the decision might not guarantee that smokers will remain in the park and not congregate in the street, litter in the park or violate the hospital's quiet zone.

"I hope along with your plan for action in this solution you have made strides to enforce this solution, patrol the park and monitor groups as well as litter they may produce that would still plague this neighborhood because of the city's ban on smoking," Crawford said in an e-mail.

"Although I am appreciative of your efforts, I feel this is just a quick and temporary fix to what could be a long-term problem for residents of this area rather than dealing with the problem in a responsible and proactive manner."

Earlier in the week, Crawford said she and her husband had placed their house on the market.

The mayor said the proposal indicates the hospital administration is trying to respond to its neighbors' concerns.

"It's a reasonable solution, and I feel positive it will resolve the problem," Irons said.

The mayor said because the park belongs to ECM and is more than 20 feet from the main and emergency room entrances, it fits within the city's smoking policy.

City Councilman Dick Jordan, who represents the neighborhood where Crawford lives, said the hospital should consider other alternatives.

"I don't think that's the solution, to put them in a public park," Jordan said. "It's still adjacent to the neighborhood."

Jordan has suggest using either the emergency room parking lot or parking deck as a designated smoking area.

Jordan said allowing smoking in the park shifts the problem to another location.

Other than problems experienced by Crawford, Whetstone said the smoking ban has received overwhelming support from the public who had grown tired of walking through clouds of smoke on their way into the hospital. He said the ban has improved the appearance of the hospital.

"We are appreciative of the many favorable comments that we have received from patients, families and employees since eliminating the use of tobacco products on our main campuses," Pigg said. "As the largest health care provider in northwest Alabama, we recognize the health risks associated with smoking and use of tobacco products. Our organization will continue to seek ways to improve and promote healthy outcomes for the community we serve."

Russ Corey can be reached at 740-5738 or russ.corey@TimesDaily.com.