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Traditional methods of removing fluid medical waste from the operating room are being replaced in many places by fluid management systems that collect and discharge contents directly into the sanitary sewer.
Fluid management systems can replace single-use disposable plastic suction canisters, chemical solidifiers (itself an exposure risk), and significantly reduce waste disposal costs. Additional available safety features include smoke evacuation, precise vacuum control, fluid measurement, air filtration, and enclosed processing which further reduces occupational exposure risk.
Fluid… Read More
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Single-use medical devices make up a significant amount of the operating room supply budget and costly regulated medical waste generated by operating rooms every day. Working with a third-party reprocessor to safely collect and purchase these reprocessed devices is one of the biggest opportunities for cost savings and waste reduction in the operating room.All reprocessing must be done by an FDA-approved vendor according to strict guidelines, including a requirement that every reprocessed device is function tested to guarantee safety and reliability.Hospitals in the Practice Greenhealth… Read More
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Practice Greenhealth has been collecting sustainability performance data from hospitals and health systems for over 20 years. As sustainability expectations have evolved, Practice Greenhealth has continued to refine the data and metrics we utilize to measure progress and benchmark performance. Below are some helpful tips to help ensure you are collecting and providing data in the correct format – which supports your scores on the application and better trend analysis for the sector.
Before starting your application, be sure to review our advice and five tips for success below.
1. Order of… Read More
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Whether your facility is applying for the first time or has been for years, you will find the details on how to access the awards platform, critical awards cycle timelines, descriptions of the different applications, and how they are scored.Where to find the applicationsThe Environmental Excellence Awards are hosted on a separate website that requires a unique username and password. You can access the awards platform at platform.practicegreenhealth.org. If you need help setting up an account, contact us at awards@practicegreenhealth.org.For your data's security, we use a two-factor… Read More
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Introduction
Increasing seafood purchases, is a solid strategy for reducing meat while promoting human and environmental health. However, the lack of transparency – along with seafood’s numerous health, environmental, and social justice concerns – make it a particularly difficult food group to navigate. This guide offers seafood procurement recommendations based on sustainability, nutrition, social, and animal welfare concerns.
This guide’s recommendations complement existing third-party certifications and inform day-to-day purchasing when sustainability labeling and information is… Read More
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Concerns over infection prevention, continued increase in the use of single-use, disposable plastics, and changes in international recycling markets and a lack of U.S.-based material recovery facilities have left operating rooms awash in single-use medical plastics. Additionally, a 0.5 percent contamination rate requirement on marketable medical plastics has challenged the compliance of many hospital recycling programs.
One ubiquitous medical plastic, ”blue wrap,” is estimated to make up almost 20 percent of all operating room waste. While these plastics do an excellent job of keeping… Read More
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Some traditional cleaning products contain ingredients that have been linked to occupational asthma. It is possible for hospitals to maintain optimal infection prevention and control while also reducing staff, patient, and visitor exposure to harmful chemicals present in many traditional hospital cleaners.
Green cleaning goal
Inventory cleaning products and purchase 90% Green Seal or UL ECOLOGO certified cleaning products in the following categories: carpet, window, all purpose, bathroom, and general floor care
For the most commonly used cleaning products, “greener” cleaners can be… Read More
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Reducing water consumption is a great place for hospitals and health systems to start improving their environmental impact and sustainability practices. There are many reasons water is and should be an area of focus:
Hospitals use approximately 7% of all water use in commercial and institutional U.S. facilities, which is costly when the price of water has slowly been rising over the last decade.
By 2030, it’s estimated that global water supply will only be able to meet 60 percent of our population’s needs.
Though hospitals are often exempted from water conservation regulations in… Read More
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More than a third of our member hospitals have identified furniture and furnishings as an area where they’d like to reduce patient, employee, and visitor exposure to chemicals of concern, especially as evidence shows that many of the chemicals used in these products off-gas, or migrate out, from the finished product and get into the air and dust, exposing employees, patients, and visitors to the chemicals.Targeted chemicals of concern in furniture and furnishings include:Formaldehyde, a known human carcinogen, found in furniture, cabinets, countertops, and many other products.Flame retardant… Read More
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Through your purchasing, there are many ways you can improve the health and well-being of people in your community and ensure that farm and food workers can live and work with dignity. In this section, we outline best practices that support a valued workforce and community health and nutrition.
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Join Practice Greenhealth
Practice Greenhealth is the health care sector’s go-to source for information, tools, data, resources, and expert technical support on sustainability initiatives that help hospitals and health systems meet their health, financial, and community goals.
Who We Are
Practice Greenhealth is the leading sustainable health care organization, delivering environmental solutions to more than 1,500 hospitals and health systems in the United States and Canada. Partnership opportunities include hospitals, health systems, community health organizations, NGOs, nonprofits, government, academic institutions, and the health care value chain.