Tools and resources

Webinar: Recycling pharmaceutical agents used for anesthesia

• Anesthetic Gas
• Greenhouse Gas
• Greening the Operating Room
• Webinar
• Clinician engagement

(Anesthetic gas toolkit) The pharmaceutical agents used for anesthesia and analgesia have environmental impacts on air, water, and climate. Learn about environmental impacts and specific examples of waste drugs in water supplies, as well as regulatory issues and a new process that recovers and reuses pharmaceutical agents. 

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Webinar: The impact of waste anesthesia gases in the OR and different mitigation strategies

• Anesthetic Gas
• Greenhouse Gas
• Greening the Operating Room
• Clinician engagement
• Webinar

(Anesthetic gas toolkit) This presentation provides an overview of the mechanics of anesthetic gas systems, their environmental impact, and opportunities to reduce energy consumption and mitigate impact.   *Note: At the time of this presentation, different GWP were used for anesthetic gases than what we now use to calculate emissions.   

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Webinar: Effectively managing waste anesthetic gas

• Webinar
• Anesthetic Gas
• Greenhouse Gas
• Greening the Operating Room
• Clinician engagement

(Anesthetic gas toolkit) Anesthesia, perioperative, biomed, and facilities staff can learn about emerging technologies to reduce scavenger system demand. Gain insight from Practice Greenhealth members and their experiences implementing a dynamic gas scavenger system.  Hear from clinical and technical experts at Cleveland Clinic, the University of Wisconsin, and others as they discuss energy…

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Anesthetic gas data collection and tracking tool

• Anesthetic Gas
• Greening the Operating Room
• Greenhouse Gas
• Clinician engagement
• Toolkit
• Tool

(Anesthetic gas toolkit) Establishing a baseline and tracking progress toward waste reduction goals helps make the case to senior leadership for the program’s continuation. Use this tool to enter anesthetic gas data and track progress over time. This interactive spreadsheet will calculate the MTCO2e from purchasing data, track percent change, and visually highlight the breakdown 

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St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center: medical waste reduction

• Case Study
• Waste
• Regulated medical waste
• Toolkit

(Less waste toolkit) Since 2009, St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center has reduced its regulated medical waste (RMW) from 10 to seven percent of total waste, saving an estimated $2,000 per year in waste disposal fees. The operating room and endoscopy personnel identified opportunities for improvement. This win-win opportunity was accomplished through education, improved segregation, and regular…

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Data 101 webinar series: How to conduct a material and waste baseline

• Waste
• Webinar
• Solid waste

How to conduct a material and waste baseline - Join this webinar for an overview of the categories that Practice Greenhealth has established in order for hospitals to use a standardized practice for measuring materials and waste. Review a step-by-step approach to understanding and tracking each waste stream, as required by Practice Greenhealth. 

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NorthShore Health System: Implementing successful waste management/recycling initiatives in the OR

• Greening the Operating Room

This presentation, an exemplary document from NorthShore HealthSystem,  shows how one facility was successful at implementing waste management/recycling initiatives in the operating room.

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Material and waste baseline presentation with script

• Presentation
• Waste
• Solid waste
• Toolkit

(Less waste toolkit)The material and waste baseline PowerPoint presentation and script was developed to help you educate your community. Download the PowerPoint with notes to use as you see fit.  

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Why less waste?

• Less Waste

Why should health care commit to producing less waste?

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Waste Management & Recycling

• Waste

When contracting for Waste Management Services, consider the following suggested RFP questions to assess services available to your organization. This resource was created to provide purchasing guidance to support your organization's sustainability goals in waste reduction.  

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