Haywood Regional Medical Center is going tobacco-free, joining the majority of hospitals in the region.

The policy will go into effect one year from now. Smoking is currently allowed in two designated areas outside — one behind the hospital for employees and one out front for patients and visitors. Smoking, as well as chewing tobacco, will be banned from hospital property, including the parking lot.

The time frame for implementing the policy came at the recommendation of other hospital administrators who have been there, done that.

“We need to give the employees an opportunity to get off the habit or at least agree with the process,” said David Rice, HRMC president and CEO.

Hospital officials said implementing the ban too soon could create a sense of chaos or panic among smokers.

“We want to support them over several months to allow them to quit,” said Eileen Lipham, vice president of professional services. Lipham said she will survey smokers for input on whether they are interested in quitting and what the hospital can do to help, like providing free smoking cessation patches and support groups.

“Only 4 percent of smokers can quit cold turkey. The other 96 percent need help,” said Dr. Nancy Freeman, a family practitioner who sits on the hospital board.

Hospital board members voted at a meeting last week on whether to implement the policy. Only one board member voted against the new policy — Jim Stevens, a hospital board member and former chairman of the county commissioners.

Stevens is rarely seen in public without a cigar in his hand. Stevens doesn’t smoke it, just chews on the butt. A regular at the hospital fitness center, Stevens aid he normally chews on the cigar during the drive from his house to the fitness center. He asked whether he would have to take the cigar out of his mouth upon pulling into the hospital driveway instead of waiting until just before he gets out of his car.

Stevens said he supports the concept of a tobacco-free campus, but simply has some unanswered questions about the logistics of the policy.

“People are going to smoke. You’re just going to make them hide and lie,” Stevens said.

“We could sit here all night and ‘what if,’ but we need to get this approved and into committee,” said Grady Stokes, chairman of the hospital board. “As a health care institution, it will send the wrong message if we don’t.”

Jada Lindsey, a nursing assistant student who was having a cigarette break outside the hospital last week, said she understands the policy when it comes to employees, but not patients and their families.

“If you have a family member up here that’s passing away and you run downstairs to smoke, you don’t want to have to run to the other end of the parking lot,” said Lindsey. “We’ve seen families out here who have lost loved ones and they come out here and they cry and they smoke.”

Danica Clark, also a nursing assistant student, agreed.

“A lot of people use smoking for a stress reliever,” Clark said. And having an ill family member in the hospital is a particularly stressful situation.

Lipham said it will take not only an internal campaign targeting smoking employees, but also a community campaign.

“The mission of the hospital is to have a healthy working environment,” Lipham said.

Steve Sorrells, a hospital board member, said the hospital should not target just smokers in that case.

“If you are going to look at smoking, you know, diabetes is an issue to. Look at the vending machines full of candy and junk food,” Sorrells said.

Other hospital board members agreed a vending machine policy should be studied as well.

Rice said he doesn’t think any of the smoking employees will quit because of the policy. Rice said HRMC got heat from other hospital administrators in the region who were concerned that unless all the hospitals went non-smoking together, smoking employees would quit and come to HRMC or Harris Regional in Sylva.

“But that did not happen,” Rice said.

Hospital officials said employees who smoke during their shift currently do not have to clock out. When the new policy goes into effect, they can clock out and use one of their 15-minute breaks to drive up and down the road in front of the hospital to smoke.

“Instead of a smoking room, you could have a Nicorette room,” suggested Dr. Tom Sithers, an emergency room doctor who is serving as chief of staff this year.

Harris Regional Medical Center in Sylva and HRMC were two of the last hospitals in the region without tobacco-free campuses.