Geisinger Follows Cleveland Clinic; Won't Hire Smokers

Cleveland Clinic established a ban on hiring smokers more than two years ago and similar policies are now spreading to other hospitals (see: Want a Job at the Cleveland Clinic?: Smokers Need Not Apply; Tobacco-Free Hiring Takes Hold; Both Smoking and Smokers Excluded; The Financial Stakes Escalate for Employees Who Smoke). Geisinger Health System has now introduced a similar policy (see: Hospital Quits Hiring Smokers, Introduces Nicotine Tests For Medical Workers). Below is an excerpt from the story

Smokers in the medical field now have another reason to quit as a Pennsylvania hospital has said it will no longer hire smokers and is introducing nicotine tests in order to enforce the rule....Those exposed to second hand smoke will be exempt from the test, which screens applicants for cigarettes, smokeless tobacco, snuff, nicotine patches, nicotine gum and cigars. For those who fail the test, the hospital says applicants can reapply after six months....According to CNN, Pennsylvania is among 19 states that allow employers to screen job applicants for signs of smoking. While there's certainly an incentive to keep employees healthy for work, the economic benefit of having non-smokers on the payroll is also notable. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) puts a $3,391 price tag on each employee who smokes: $1,760 in lost productivity and $1,623 in excess medical expenditures.

A few interesting points are brought out in this article relating to the exclusion of smokers as new hospital hires. A twist that was new to me in the article is that a prospective employee can claim an exemption from the hiring ban on the basis of second-hand smoke. I assume that the applicant would show a weakly positive lab test that could be explained by a smoker in his or her household or even in a car pool. I believe that the preferred test for a history of smoking continues to be cotinine (see: Saliva and Urine Tests for Smoking). Secondly and in the article, it seems that there needs to be enabling state laws in place to enable a hospital to pursue a smoking restriction; 19 states currently have such laws in place. I suspect that most of the states that have not yet fallen in line with such legislation will do so shortly. Smokers are becoming an endangered species.

Lastly, there is data presented at the end of the excerpt above that place a cost to employers for employees who smoke, providing convincing financial evidence for the soundness of a "no smokers, no smoking" policy for hospitals. It seems to me that there are three health system that usually take the lead regarding innovative clinical and organizational policies: Cleveland Clinic, Geisinger, and Kaiser. You can now expect many other hospitals, initially in the 19 states, to launch similar policies.

Comments

[Hospital Management]

Smoking is not good thing, everybody need avoid it.

[e cig]

I agree with not allowing smokers to work in clinics because second-hand smoke is harmful to others. As a smoker, you would only be hurting the sick coming to the clinic even more.

[Lab]

Its a nice technique. How can a person get to know that the patient smokes form saliva and urine test?