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(Less water toolkit) There are over 50 million inpatient surgeries annually in the United States according to the CDC, and the majority of clinicians still practice the tradition of hand washing with soap as standard procedure. Carolinas Medical Center’s Green OR Committee discovered that only 22 percent of their clinicians were utilizing waterless scrubs (alcohol-based hand rubs). After facility education and system-wide adoption, over 80 percent of surgical personnel favored the waterless scrubs. This new behavior change translated directly to 2.7 million liters of water savings resulting… Read More
Type: Resources
Stewardship is a key aspect of the culture at Virginia Mason, as we strive to carefully manage the resources that keep our community in good health. One area of stewardship that is often overlooked in health care is the need to protect the environment. We know it makes good sense to reduce pollution for future generations. At an industry level, health care has lagged behind in taking proactive steps to protect our natural resources, but Virginia Mason is ahead of the curve. We were the first hospital in the Pacific Northwest to begin recycling and composting food waste and materials used in… Read More
Type: Resources
The operating room generates a large volume of disposable plastics, ranging from single-use medical devices to packaging to sterile wrap to plastic pour bottles for irrigation. The vast majority of these items go out the door as waste—either with regulated medical waste (where comprehensive segregation efforts have not yet been undertaken) or as solid waste or recycling. More efficient than disposing of waste in the least impactful way is preventing generation of waste altogether, and evaluating the potential to transition some items from disposable to reusable while still ensuring infection… Read More
Type: Resources
Metrowest Medical Center became interested in reusable sterilization containers when the manager of sterile processing department decreased use of disposable blue wrap as a cost-saving measure. Projections included a 5-year savings of $84,000 and a 10-year savings of $233,000.
Type: Resources
In August 2014, Virginia Mason Medical Center (VMMC) engaged McKinstry to create a long-term energy and water use reduction master plan focused on their downtown campus. The overarching goal during the development of the plan was to provide a roadmap and multi-year action plan for how VMMC can reduce energy and water use to achieve the 2030 Seattle District energy goals. This is an opportunity to upgrade aging infrastructure and improve VMMC’s facilities for better patient and staff satisfaction and patient outcomes. This document is the culmination of that development and includes both the… Read More
Type: Resources
As chronic disease management statistics continue to grow, health care is focused on reversing that trend. We now know certain types of cancer, learning and developmental disabilities, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, reproductive health and fertility problems and asthma are some of the chronic diseases that can be linked in some way to the harmful chemicals we are all exposed to.
Hackensack University Medical Center has built a strong foundation by implementing a safer chemicals policy and including safer chemicals as a standing agenda item at the Environment of Care committee meetings.
Type: Resources
Northshore University Health System has implemented waste management and recycling programs in the operating room. Employee education, staff engagement, and other initiatives have resulted in an increase in recycling rates and reductions in medical and solid waste. Open the presentation to see how Northshore was able to make sustainability improvements.
Type: Resources
The Circle of Excellence Awards celebrate hospitals who have not only earned an award for all-around sustainability achievement, but who have also been identified as the top scoring programs for each category of sustainability.
LEADERSHIP CIRCLE
It all starts with leadership. The Leadership Circle represents the high-performing hospitals that have a strong infrastructure supporting a long term commitment to healthier environments through leadersship vision, committee structure, reporting, data tracking, communication and education.
Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital
Cleveland Clinic… Read More
Type: Resources
NYU Langone Medical Center provides an example of a safety policy on the proper management and disposal of hazardous waste from contractors involved in construction and building maintenance. The purpose of this policy is to protect human health and the environment and to comply with all applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations.
View this resource to read the full policy from NYU Langone Medical Center.
Type: Resources
Single-use medical devices are expensive resources that end up in the landfill after use. By using reprocessed medical devices, Virginia Mason has provided the highest quality of care, while reducing waste to the landfill and reducing supply costs by over $3M in three years. In 2014, Virginia Mason reprocessed or recycled over 18,850 pounds of devices, which may have otherwise have been discarded in a landfill
Type: Resources
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