Tools and resources

Virginia Mason: Sustainable anesthesia case cart

• Greening the Operating Room
• Exemplary Document
• Virginia Mason
• Report

(Anesthetic gas toolkit) In 2015, Virginia Mason continued to improve on their anesthesia carts to enable anesthesiologists to have an environmentally responsible practice. The carts were optimized so that each one has a recycling, compressed aerosols, and a comingled sharps container. Once the standard work was agreed to, all of the carts were standardized to the design, so that it is intuitive…

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Value of sustainability initiatives in surgical suites

• Benchmark Report
• Greening the Operating Room

Practice Greenhealth’s report demonstrates how your hospital can save money – up to $56,000 per operating room annually – while improving environmental and community health. Leading hospitals are targeting the surgical suite to reduce waste, energy use, greenhouse gas emissions, and supply costs. Those participating in Practice Greenhealth’s Environmental Excellence Awards reported combined…

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Sample employee commute survey

• Transportation
• Employees
• Toolkit

(Transportation toolkit) Employee commute surveys and data collection may also be administered by state, regional, and municipal transit authorities, non-profit organizations, and business partners. These are acceptable sources for reporting and tracking employee single-occupancy vehicles and vehicle-miles-traveled rates.

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Sample Award Scoring Framework

• Awards
• Guide

Practice Greenhealth uses a number of criteria to evaluate Environmental Excellence Award applications in its efforts to recognize hospitals and health systems for their outstanding achievements. To assist health care facility members in gaining an understanding of how applications are evaluated, Practice Greenhealth has created the following overview on our scoring framework.

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Legacy Good Samaritan Green Building LEED Document (2016)

• Green Building
• Exemplary Document
• Legacy Health
• Guide

Open this resource to view a sustainable construction design guide from Legacy Health.

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Extended producer responsibility factsheet

• EPP
• EPP Resource
• Guide
• Purchasing
• Waste
• Recycling

One easy step government entities, businesses and institutions (such as hospitals and universities) can take to implement extended producer responsibility (EPR) is to buy from manufacturers that agree to collect and recycle their products when they reach the end of their useful life. This fact sheet explains how EPR – also called product stewardship – has been, and can be, added to policies and…

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NYU Langone: Mercury Policies (2016)

• Chemicals
• Mercury
• NYU Langone Medical Center
• Exemplary Document
• Policy

In an effort to protect personnel and the environment, it is the policy of NYU Langone Medical Center to eliminate the use of mercury-containing products and equipment where safe, effective alternatives exist. The mercury elimination program requires that where no acceptable substitute is available, products containing mercury will be clearly labeled, inventoried, safely handled and properly…

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NYU Langone: Contracting Purchasing (2016)

• Waste
• Chemicals
• Exemplary Document
• Hazardous and universal waste
• Policy
• NYU Langone Medical Center

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…

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Environmental considerations for nurse call systems

• Sustainable procurement
• Guide

Environmental considerations for nurse call systems such as recycled content, packaging, hazardous substances, etc. to facilitate purchasing decisions. 

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NorthShore University Health System: Mercury Policies (2016)

• Chemicals
• Mercury
• Exemplary Document
• NorthShore University HealthSystem
• Policy

It is the policy of NorthShore University Health System to prohibit all unnecessary acquisition of mercury-added products in its facilities and to ensure that all mercury containing equipment and waste is managed and disposed in a manner that is safe, protective of the environment, and compliant with all applicable regulations. The policy establishes guidelines for the procurement, use, and…

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