Additional Resources

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We've compiled (and are continuing to build) various pieces of research, literature, presentations, and other resources to substantiate implementing these practices within your organization. 

Greening the OR In the News...

Greener ORs: Keys to making the business case
OR Manager, Vol. 28 No. 5, May 2012

Going Green in the OR Brings Financial, Environmental Gains 
OR Manager, Vol. 27, No. 6, June 2011

Medical Device Reprocessing

• Demand for Disposable Medical Supplies to Increase.
  Specialty Fabrics Review, October 2009.
•  Leaner and Greener Operations - The Environmental Benefits of Reprocessing.
  By Donna Hurst.  The Source - HealthTrust Purchasing Group, Summer 2009.
• Report Confirms: Reprocessing Single Use Devices Decreases Costs.
  Medical Data Institute, March 2011.
• Association of Medical Device Reprocessors.
•  Report to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, House of Representatives:  Reprocessed Single-Use Medical Devices.
  US Government Accountability Office, January 2008.
•  Reduce, Reuse, Recycle: Reprocessing Medical Devices.
  By Ashwin Modunga.  Hospital Management.Net, March 2010.
•  Recycling Boosts Iowa Health's Bottom Line.
  By Todd Razor.  Des Moines Business Record, December 2010.
• Executive Summary: Survey on the Reuse and Reprocessing of Single-Use Devices (SUDs) in US Hospitals.
  Food and Drug Administration, April 2009.
• 1997-2007 Ten Years of Excellence in Reprocessing. 
  Association of Medical Device Reprocessors. November, 2007.
• Commentary: A Call to Go Green in Health Care by Reprocessing Medical Equipment
  By Gifty Kwayke, MPH; Peter J. Pronovost, MD, PhD; Martin A. Makary,  MD, MPH.  Academic Medicine, March 2010
• Transition to Reprocessing - One OR's Success
  By PK Boone.  Nursing Administration, 2010.
• Are You Reprocessing Single Use Devices?
  By Sheila Jobe-Lockwood, CHMM and Tung Thanh Nguyen.  Outpatient Surgery, April 2009.

Rigid Containers

• Can a Rigid Container System be Greener and Safer at the Same Time? - Unique Rigid Container Benefits Healthcare "Greening" Efforts
  By Rose Seavey, RN, BS, MBA, CNOR, CRCST, CSPDT.  Managing Infection Control, November 2009.
• Sterilization Cues for Containers
  By Arlene Carlo, R.N., BSN, CPM, FCSP.  Materials Management in Healthcare, April 2007.
• Greening Healthcare Through Pollution Prevention: Overview of Waste Management.
  By Jack McGurk.  Greening of Hospitals Workshop.
• Considerations for use of Rigid Sterilization Containers.
  By Susan Flynn.  Healthcare Purchasing News, October 2010. 
• Sterilization Container Systems - Tutorial.
  Case Academy- Case Medical. 
• Talking about Flash Sterilization
  By Carina Stanton, MA.  AORN News.
   

Recyclable & Reusable

• An Audit of Potentially Recyclable Waste from Anesthetic Practice
  By E. McGain, SA Hendel, DA Story.  Anaesthesia and Intensive Care, September 2009.
• Greening in Healthcare
  Gary Laustsen, PhD, RN, FNP-BC.  Nursing Management, November 2010.
• Safety and Hygiene of Surgical Gowns and Surgical Drapes.
  By Sabine Fisch.  Clinicum Expertise, Medizin Medien Austria, December 2010.
• A Quantitative, Qualitative, and Critical Assessment of Surgical Waste: Surgeons Venture Through the Trash Can
  By Miles E. Tieszen, MD and James C. Gruenberg, MD.  The Journal of the American Medical Association, May 1992.
• The Benefits of a Dedicated Minimally Invasive Surgery Program to Academic General Surgery Practice
  By R.E. Glasgow , K.A. Adamson, S.J. Mulvihill.  Journal of Gastrointestinal Surgery, November 2004.
• Demand for Disposable Medical Supplies to Increase.
  Specialty Fabrics Review, October 2009.
• Greening the Operating Room: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Redesign.
  By T. Kate Huncke, M.D., Susan Ryan, Ph.D., M.D., William Paulsen, Ph.D., Caitlin Stanton, M.P.H., Spencer Yost, M.D. and Adam B. Striker, M.D.  ASAHQ Committee on Equipment and Facilities. 
• Reduce -- Reuse -- Recycle: Guidelines for Promoting Perioperative Waste Management. 
  By Gary Laustsen, PhD, RN, FNP-BC.  AORN Journal, April 2007.
• Reducing Medical Waste
  By Julie Conrardy, RN, MSN, CNOR; Mary Hillanbrand, RN, MSN, CNOR; Sandra Myers, RN, MSN, CNOR; George F. Nussbaum, RN, EdM, PhD, CNOR.  AORN Journal, June 2010
• Medical Devices: General and Special Controls.
  US Food and Drug Administration
• Liquid Barrier Performance and Classification of Protective Apparel and Drapes Intended for Use in Health Care Facilities.
  American National Standards Institution, 2003. 

Fluid Management

• Safe Options for Suction Canister Waste
  By JM Mathias.  OR Manager, April 2004.
• Suction Canister Waste Reduction
  Minnesota Technical Assistance Program, 2007.
• Proper Liquid Waste Disposal Mines Solid Gold Bottom Line
  By Rick Dana Barlow.  Healthcare Purchasing News
• The Benefits of a Dedicated Minimally Invasive Surgery Program to Academic General Surgery Practice
  By R.E. Glasgow , K.A. Adamson, S.J. Mulvihill.  Journal of Gastrointestinal Surgery, November 2004.
• Glutaraldehyde - Occupational Hazards in Hospitals
  National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  NIOSH Publication 2001-115.

OR Kit Reformulation

• A Study of Added Costs of Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy Based on Surgery Preference Cards
  By J.W. Allen and H.C. Polk, Jr.  The American Surgeon, May 2002
• Assessment of the Economic Impact of an Overage Reduction Program in the Operating Room
  By W.H. Rosenblatt, A. Chavez, D.Tenney , D.G.Silverman.  Journal of Clinical Anesthesia, September 1997.
• There's Gold in "Them Thar" Preference Cards!
  By Larry Grossman.  Unibased Systems Architecture
• Materials Management in the Operating Room: Best Practice in Surgery Materials Management
  Surgery Management Improvement Group, 2008.
• In a World of Throwaways, Making a Dent in Medical Waste
  By Ingefi Chen.  The New York Times, July 2010. 

RMW Waste Segregation & Management

• Making the Case for Leaner, Greener Surgical Supplies.
  Outpatient Surgery, May 2010
• Endobronchial Ultrasound Versus Mediastinoscopy: A Single Institution Cost Analysis and Waste Comparison
  By Natasha M. Rueth, MD; Shawn S. Groth, MD, MS; Eric L. Hall, BS; Jonathan D'Cunha, MD, PhD, FACS; Jennifer A. Swanson, MD, MPH; Michael M. Maddaus, MD; Rafael S. Andrade, MD, FACS.  Journal of the American College of Surgeons, September 2010
• Reduce-Reuse-Recycle: Guidelines for Promoting Perioperative Waste Management
  By Gary Laustsen.  AORN Journal, April 2007
• Reducing Medical Waste
  By Julie Conrardy, RN, MSN, CNOR; Mary Hillanbrand, RN, MSN, CNOR; Sandra Myers, RN, MSN, CNOR; George F. Nussbaum, RN, EdM, PhD, CNOR.  AORN Journal, June 2010
• Reducing OR Refuse
  By Paula DeJohn.  Materials Management in Health Care, March 2010
• Medical Waste Incinerator Waste Management Plan - Malcolm Grow Medical Center Building.
  United States Air Force IERA, June 2001.
• Waste Disposal
  EPA, 2011.
• Regulated Medical Waste Reduction: 10 Steps to Implementing a Regulated Medical Waste Reduction Plan.
  Hospitals for a Healthy Environment, 2004.
   

Energy Efficiency

• Technological Advances in Lighting and Booms for the OR: Impact on Infection Control and OR Efficiency
  Infection Control Today, July, 2000
• Wastage of Supplies and Drugs in the Operating Room
  Medscape Anesthesiology, October 21, 2009
• How to Increase Efficiency in the Operating Room
  Surgical Clinics of North America, February 1996

Sustainability in the OR

• Commentary: A Call to Go Green in Health Care by Reprocessing Medical Equipment
  Academic Medicine, March 2010
• Hospitals Boost Sustainability Efforts, Reduce Environmental Impact
  Infection Control Today, November 2010
• ORs: Next Target for Hospital Sustainability
  Infection Control Today, July, 2010
• Can Efficient Supply Management in the Operating Room Save Millions?
  Current Opinion in Anaesthesiology

Practice Greenhealth thanks these organizations for their contribution to the Greening the OR Initiative