Hospital removes pop; employees outraged

https://www.statnews.com/2016/10/24/hospitals-selling-sugary-drinks/?s_campaign=fb&utm_content=buffer3619d&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer

The story's a couple months old, but I think this is a good talking point regardless. I think it's a smart decision to remove unhealthy food choices in hospitals. Hospitals should be a bastion of health and sugary drinks don't really fit in with that. Someone mentioned in the article about freedom being taken away... Well, you can still drink pop in a hospital.. Just go find a 7-11 down the street.

I myself am getting ready to cut pop out of my diet, and I think I'll be all the better for it. If anything, it will stop eroding my teeth.

What are your thoughts on hospitals with sugary drinks in their vending machines?

soda lyfe

Bet the hospital does nothing to remove their shitty, obscenely priced food in their cafeterias.

That would be worth following up on.

If they want to actually do good, they should donate to child's programs in the third world. Kids are starving and their response to worldwide hunger is "This has too many calories!!"

They can start doing good by feeding starving children in their own country. We'd be better equipped to help other countries if we helped ourselves first. Kinda like, "Don't put the oxygen mask on the child until it's on you first."

Oh no... they have to bring something to work with them from home. The horror...

I think that's a good thing to do as it can be detrimental to one's health and they should be promoting living a healthy lifestyle.

true true. If only their minds were off public relations, and towards sensible programs for children and families, public health would not be totally awful. The healthcare establishment in the US is such a broken, bloated pile of misery at this moment.

Unfortunately, it's a byproduct of a capitalistic society. It's never going to improve until the government starts putting people first.

Keep the coffee machine that is all.

Sounds too idealistic. If your gonna remove soda, but not all the other junk food. Which includes things that may come off as a healthier alternative. Like pasteurized juices high in artificial sugars. What have you really accomplished.

Let me take an actual real life example. So a hospital by my college, decided they didn't want anyone smoking cigarettes on the public sidewalk running around the hospital. And even went as far as putting yellow caution tape to serve as a psychological barrier on a public sidewalk. The hospital eventually gave up trying to have a non smoking area outside. Hospital staff in particular, did not want to wander too far off for their cigarette breaks. And were already being submissive not smoking inside.

Meh...I know of quite a few hospitals with no smoking on hospital grounds. Period. Full stop. That includes, staff, patients and visitors. It includes in the buildings, outside of the buildings, on the grounds, in the parking lots, in your car in the parking lot, etc. Indeed, starting Jan 1st 2018 all hospitals in Ontario will be smoke free properties by law meaning inside and outside the buildings. No smoking on the property. Period.

They would give me soda when I had a headache from spinal leakage.

I preferred the caffeine going through my IV.

@SUD123456: Have you ever been a position where you had to enforce rules, regulations, company policy or laws as a supervisor, security guard. Or anything involving a law enforcement profession including peace officer status ?

If you have, or read anything about any interactions hospital police; like the one in NYC. You would know the surgeon or specialist making $300k, who takes cigarette breaks. Is going to have a bit of an ego, and will either tell you to "piss off". Or start smoking again once you turn your back. Now when the lower level staff members see a supervisor or hospital official, avoiding a confrontation over hospital policies. Whether it be because they're buddies with said person smoking or not. Which would make things worse when that buddy gets away with breaking the rules; while others get told off. Would lead to tension in the workplace, over unequal and unfair enforcement of hospital rules. Which is likely part of the reason, a similar outdoor smoking policy at the hospital by my college failed.

@JustPlainLucas: "We'd be better equipped to help other countries if we helped ourselves first. "

Don't the USA spend billions helping others outside the USA?

I keep caffeine pills stashed all over the place.

At work, the glovebox, all my bugout bags, my first aid kits, you name it and there is some no-doze stashed away.

Do that or be sorry at some point when you go into withdrawal and can't get your fix.

Yep, and then you see all the sick, unemployed, and homeless people here in the USA and you begin to question to priorities.

@JustPlainLucas: "Yep, and then you see all the sick, unemployed, and homeless people here in the USA and you begin to question to priorities."

Agreed. I understand alot them had bad habits(drugs) that led them to it, but alot of them are victims of the flawed American system.

Well they could just go out and buy it. The only ones loosing out here is the hospital since the sales would be going elsewhere.

I'm very much aware that soda is pretty much bad for you, so I don't have a problem with a hospital taking it off the menu. That said I'm pretty much addicted to soda, and I can certainly understand people getting upset over not having access to it.

How about fining every one who smokes out side doors with dressing gown on and drip hanging from arm. Plenty of times I've seen this and think what the point. OK going for fresh air but not to smoke. Its makes so angry when go to go to hospital and there there smoking away walking threw entrance greee.

When I go for my kidney check up my blood pressure that low that doc said I don't normally say this but eat more salt and have 2 packs of crisps per day. They cant do anything for low blood pressure. :P

Have you ever heard of the gov't? The same people who own the hospitals in Ontario, who license the doctors, who pay the doctors. Yep, them be the peeps who set the no smoking policy and they are the one's who will enforce it through the chief of staff who can also be readily replaced. I already said I am familiar with hospitals that enforce this... my wife is the head of medical affairs for one... and it is about to come into effect province wide through gov't legislation.

Doctors and employees are the least able to get away with breaking the rules because all it takes is one anti-smoker nurse, RT, or similar unionized staff to complain and the hospital will investigate. If you are a Doctor you get a visit and a lecture from the chief. You get a few of those and your privileges are suspended. You lose that you cannot practice medicine at that hospital.

The examples I am aware of are decisions the CEO and Board of the hospital have made, or in at least one case, the regional authority. The coming step is gov't mandated across the province. Private facilities would be even easier to accomplish if the owners/Board decided this is what they really want to do. It has nothing to do with the security guard because that is only representative of lowest level casual interaction at the point of failure. It has everything to do with culture and tone from the top because those are the people with the big sticks to enforce the policies.

As for creating and enforcing policies, yes I have lots of experience as I am in executive management. I am in the energy sector and safety (for instance) is critically important. If you choose to violate a safety rule then you are choosing to be unemployed. Policy and rule enforcement always succeeds or fails from the top down, not the other way around.

Soda is really bad for you...or rather the high fructose corn syrup in the drink is really bad for you.

But if it really that important to people to have their favorite soda, buy it from the store and bring it to work

Are you addicted to the caffeine or the sugar aspect of it?

stupid

soda is not the problem. Too much soda is the problem.

Here's an idea: maybe have your employees work reasonable hours, that way they won't need to binge caffeinated sugar water to stay awake and manage stress. Seriously, between nurses, doctors (at least the ones in their first few years of career), and EMT's I'd wager the American medical professional probably works 60 hours a week.

You'd be surprised how many of them smoke and binge eat, too, despite obviously knowing how bad both are for you.

I drink diet so not the sugar. I'm sure there's some caffeine addiction as well, but carbonation is part of the addiction as well. Something about the way it feels in the mouth/throat is rough and invigorating.

Yeah, I get that. The carbonation can be addicting as well.