Tools and resources

Sustainability within Rural Hospitals: Mercy Hospital Lebanon

• Energy

Mercy Hospital Lebanon leaders and co-workers have worked to overcome challenges and implemented successful sustainability practices to reduce environmental impacts and reduce operational costs. Through a cost-effective retro-commissioning project focused on its heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system, the facility was able to reduce energy consumption by 23 percent, with savings…

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Safer hand hygiene toolkit

• Member Toolkit
• Chemicals
• Hand Hygiene
• Antimicrobial
• Toolkit

Infection prevention and control in health care are of utmost importance. However, triclosan and triclocarban, antimicrobial ingredients commonly used in hand hygiene products in the health care setting, have been shown by multiple studies to pose risks for both employees and the environment. In response to these concerns, Practice Greenhealth developed a goal and how-to guide to eliminate the…

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Hudson Hospital & Clinic Hudson, Wisconsin: Recycling

• Waste
• Solid waste
• Recycling
• Case Study

Environmental degradation of the St. Croix River prompted community leaders of its border communities to come together to address the issue and resolve to improve river health by improving operations in their respective organizations. Hudson Hospital & Clinic successfully implemented a paper use reduction initiative and enhanced recycling program, which became a building block to ongoing…

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How-to guide: Recycling step-by-step

• Waste
• Solid waste
• Recycling
• Guide

This step-by-step guide will help a health care facility achieve a 15 percent recycling rate compared to total waste. 

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Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital: Climate and health resilience

• Climate and Health
• Case Study
• Resilience

The 132-patient room, 378,000 square foot Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital was built to replace an aging facility originally designed as a nursing home and that could no longer meet the demands of the community in its existing space. Offered as a development site by the City of Boston, the hospital has become an exemplar of resilience strategy and planning. It's design integrates essential…

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Sustainable procurement directory: Non-medical products

• Sustainable procurement
• Non-medical products
• Directory

The sustainable procurement directory provides Practice Greenhealth members with guidance on more than 120 products and services health care organizations can target for sustainable procurement. The directory identifies key environmental considerations for each product or service, where to obtain more information, and the rationale for purchasing sustainably. This resource supports anyone who…

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Sustainable procurement directory: Services

• Sustainable procurement
• Services
• Directory

The sustainable procurement directory provides Practice Greenhealth members with guidance on over 120 products and services health care organizations can target for sustainable procurement. The directory identifies key environmental considerations for each product or service, where to obtain more information, and the rationale for purchasing sustainably. This resource supports anyone who…

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Sustainable procurement directory: Medical products

• Sustainable procurement
• Medical products
• Safer medical products and devices
• Directory

The sustainable procurement directory provides Practice Greenhealth members with guidance on more than 120 products and services health care organizations can target for sustainable procurement. The directory identifies key environmental considerations for each product or service, where to obtain more information, and the rationale for purchasing sustainably. This resource supports anyone who…

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Transportation toolkit

• Transportation
• Toolkit

Practice Greenhealth is pleased to offer members a toolkit to help hospitals and health systems reduce their transportation-related greenhouse gas emissions. The goals aim to reduce employee single occupancy vehicle rates and miles, transition fleet vehicles to alternative fuels, implement idle reduction policies and practices, and work with supply chain partners to do the same. The toolkit…

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Less waste toolkit

• Less Waste
• Toolkit
• Regulated medical waste
• Hazardous and universal waste
• Construction and demolition debris
• Solid waste
• food waste
• Pharmaceutical Waste
• Reuse, donate, or sell
• Composting
• Recycling

This less waste resource toolkit provides a Practice Greenhealth member-only benefit to help with your sustainability goals and daily challenges.  Understand why it’s important to commit to reducing waste. Access step by step guidance on how to conduct a material and waste baseline. Learn from case studies of success from Partners HealthCare, Vidant Health, Inova and other systems. Download…

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