Beth Young works in Environmental Services for Conemaugh Health System. A smoker for most of her life, she says she quit for two reasons.

"My grandchildren and Conemaugh's new policy of smoke-free shifts," Young said.

Young stopped smoking exactly one week after Conemaugh told employees that they can't smoke at all during working hours. That includes breaks taken off hospital property.

"We feel this is the right thing for our patients and staff to start making a healthier community," said Marlene Singer, the Community, Health and Wellness Coordinator for Conemaugh.

Young says the support she's received from her co-workers has helped her put down the cigarettes.

"They support me everyday. They ask me how many days it is. It's a lot of help," she said.

Young took part in the Great American Smokeout Wednesday at Memorial Medical Center in Johnstown. It's a nationwide event where people are encouraged to stop smoking for one day.

"It is very stressful to quit smoking, sometimes for the people around them as well as the smoker," Singer said. "We encourage them to have a support system."

Young is working on her smoke-free lifestyle with two colleagues. She says she's noticed a big difference in her personal life.

"I feel wonderful. I can breathe. I can smell. Everything tastes much better. I'm a happier person," she said.

The change has been good on her wallet, too. Young says she's saved nearly a thousand dollars in the past two-and-a-half months, because she hasn't been buying cigarettes.