For Immediate Release: 11/3/2008
For More Information Contact — Melissa Williams, Director of Marketing
     202 Maplewood Avenue
     Ronceverte, WV 24970
     (304)647-6029

Ronceverte, WV - Greenbrier Valley Medical Center is going tobacco-free on April 1, 2009. After this time, no tobacco use of any kind will be permitted — inside or outside — on hospital property. This initiative will include the elimination of designated areas outside Greenbrier Valley Medical Center where employees, patients and visitors are currently permitted to use tobacco products.

As a healthcare organization, we are committed to the health and safety of our employees and patients. We believe that we have a responsibility to take a leadership role on this major health issue, and establishing our entire campus as tobacco-free firmly supports that belief.

On average, 11 West Virginians die each day from smoking, and tobacco is the cause of more than one of every five deaths in the state and is the root cause of many illnesses and lost productivity. The US Surgeon General has confirmed that exposure to secondhand tobacco smoke is a serious health hazard and that there is no risk-free level of exposure. Tobacco use in and around hospitals poses health and safety risks for patients, employees and visitors.

Greenbrier Valley Medical Center's decision to go tobacco-free is not an attempt to force anyone to quit using tobacco products. Rather, the tobacco-free initiative is a concrete way to demonstrate our ongoing commitment to healthy living.

We are asking for community support in Greenbrier Valley Medical Center's tobacco-free initiative as we move toward April 1, 2009.