Tools and resources

Greening the OR checklist

• Greening the Operating Room
• Waste
• Tool

As one of the largest users of supplies and generators of hospital waste, the operating room (OR) is a strategic priority for any hospital hoping to reduce its impact on the environment. This tool is designed to assist health care providers in assessing the status of environmental best practices in the OR.

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Hackensack University Medical Center Sustainability Certification program

• Employees Case Study
• Employee engagement
• Hackensack University Medical Center
• Case Study
• Engaged Leadership
• Toolkit

(Employee engagement toolkit) Hackensack University Medical Center's Sustainability Certification program includes a one-hour lecture and thirty minutes for discussion. The educational content is in alignment with the Practice Greenhealth's six-category framework: Engaged leadership, leaner energy, healthier food, less Waste, safer chemicals, and smarter purchasing. The lecture connects these…

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Implementation module: Fluid management systems in the OR

• Greening the Operating Room
• Fluid management systems
• Guide

A large portion of surgical waste is liquid waste — blood and body fluids diverted during surgery. This waste stream is typically collected in disposable plastic suction canisters. Hospitals are finding that another option—fluid management systems that empty liquids directly to the sanitary sewer—are safer for staff, better for the environment and offer long-term cost-savings.

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Implementation module: Medical plastic recycling in the OR

• Greening the Operating Room
• Medical Plastic Recycling
• Recycling
• Guide

Recent hospital data demonstrates that recycling in the OR can generate large volumes of recyclables—in excess of 1000lbs of medical plastics weekly at one large NYC institution with more than 40 ORs/surgical procedure areas.  At an average cost of $121 per ton for solid waste disposal and a price tag of $68 per ton for recycling the same material a hospital might pay nearly twice the price for…

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Implementation module: Regulated medical waste segregation and minimization in the OR

• Greening the Operating Room
• Regulated medical waste
• Guide
• Waste Segregation

The operating room (OR) is often the largest generator of waste within a hospital setting, and has been estimated to produce between 20-33% of the total waste generated in the hospital despite its diminutive spatial footprint. Of the waste generated by the OR, the largest percentage is often regulated medical waste (RMW), which can costs between 5 and 10 times more than solid waste to dispose of…

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Implementation Module: Rigid Sterilization Containers in the OR

• Greening the Operating Room
• Rigid Sterilization Containers
• Guide
• Reuse, donate, or sell

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…

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Inova Fairfax Hospital: Regulated medical waste reduction

• Case Study
• Inova Health
• Less Waste
• Regulated medical waste
• Less Waste Case Study
• Toolkit

(Less waste toolkit) Learn how Inova Fairfax Hospital, a 900-bed trauma 1 community hospital in Falls Church, Va., reduced 14 percent of red bag waste and saved over $200,000 in waste removal fees.   

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Managing pharmaceutical waste: A 10-step blueprint

• Waste
• Pharmaceutical Waste
• Guide
• Less Waste

The Healthcare Environmental Resource Center (HERC) and Practice Greenhealth recommend this 10-step approach to help you develop and implement a comprehensive pharmaceutical hazardous waste management program – one that combines regulatory compliance and best management practices with waste minimization – to safeguard human health and the environment, while minimizing risk in a cost-effective…

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University of Minnesota study on reducing solid waste in surgical centers

• Greening the Operating Room
• Guide
• Exemplary Document
• Mayo Clinic
• Medical Plastic Recycling

With assistance from the EPA, the University of Minnesota conducted a study on reducing solid waste, including blue wrap, in surgical centers.

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Metro Health Hospital: Medical device reprocessing

• Metro Health
• Case Study
• Less Waste Case Study
• Medical Device Reprocessing
• Toolkit

(Less waste toolkit) This case study highlights how Practice Greenhealth member Metro Health hospital saved hundreds of thousands of dollars and tons of waste from going to the landfill through purchasing reprocessed devices.

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