Hallym University Kangnam Sacred Heart Hospital

Kangdong Sacred Heart Hospital has recently declared itself a clean hospital which would be completely free of cigarette smoke. According to the hospital's plan to rid itself of smoke, nonsmoking areas will be all precincts of the hospital including the outside as well as the inside of the facility. Moreover, doctors and other medical caregivers, patients and visitors are also denied a right to smoke within the hospital complex. Kangdong has already taken steps to rigidly prohibit smoking through a variety of promotional campaigns.

According to the National Health Promotion Act promulgated in 2006, facilities being used by ordinary citizens such as office buildings, factories, mixed-use buildings, tourist accommodations, medical facilities each of which covers a total floor space of over 1000m², and cafeterias and restaurants each occupying more than an operational space of 150m² shall be designated as nonsmoking areas, or shall separate smoking and nonsmoking zones. Responsibilities to strictly abide by the act fall on the owners and managers of these buildings.

Kangdong plans to keep launching anti-smoking promotional programs to make its declaration most workable by putting up banners in and out of the hospital, and providing consulting programs to help as many citizens as possible quit smoking.

"Now that there is a generally accepted idea that smoking does you more harm than good, we at Kangdong have recently decided to initiate a drive to make itself a smoke-free facility. We are determined to be more proactive in motivating our patients, visitors, and medical professionals to abstain from smoking in such a way as to bring healthy home and society in the future," said Dr. Chan-Heun Park, Director of Kangdong Sacred Heart Hospital.

By Younghee Han, Int'l Operations Team, HUMC (symposium@hallym.or.kr)