Becker's Hospital Review

82 Sign up for the COMPLIMENTARY Becker's Hospital Review CEO Report & CFO Report E-Weeklies at www.BeckersHospitalReview.com or call (800) 417-2035 ample, the 284-bed Blodgett currently recycles confidential paper, has a single-stream recycling program and implements vast energy savings measures within its operating rooms. In addition, 10 tons of food are composted at Blodgett every month. St. Francis Hospital Downtown (Greenville, S.C.). The 245-bed St. Francis Hospital Downtown is considered one of the greenest facilities within the Marriottsville, Md.-based Bon Secours Health System. Last year, it nabbed the highest honor, the Environmental Leadership Circle, from Practice Greenhealth. St. Francis also is a preeminent follower of Bon Secours' community commitment to green initiatives. St. Joseph Hospital (Nashua, N.H.). St. Joseph Hospital and its parent system, Covenant Health Systems in Tewksbury, Mass., have outlined today's environmental issues as a guiding principle within their organizations: "We practice responsible stewardship of the resources entrusted to us and create healthy environments for our employees and the people we serve." The 208-bed St. Joseph has adhered to that philosophy by partnering with medical waste companies and the community. St. Joseph's Medical Center (Stockton, Calif.). St. Joseph's Medical Center is a 359-bed community hospital and part of San Francisco-based Dignity Health. In 2012, the Healthier Hospitals Initiative highlighted St. Joseph's water conservation and green initiative through its laundry program. The hospital currently uses 220,000 reusable isolation gowns and 231,000 incontinent pads every year, which has drastically reduced the hospital's footprint and local landfill usage. The hospital is part of the California Climate Action Registry, which voluntarily measures and reports all greenhouse gas emissions. St. Mary's Hospital & Regional Medical Center (Grand Junction, Colo.). When St. Mary's Hospital & Regional Medical Center finished its major construction project in 2010, it became one of the tallest and greenest hospitals between Denver and Salt Lake City. St. Mary's Hospital, part of Denver-based Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth Health System, attained LEED Silver certification for the project. Swedish Medical Center – Issaquah (Wash.). Swedish Medical Center – Issaquah opened in November 2011 after the greater Issaquah-Sammamish community decided it needed its own hospital. According to the Healthier Hospitals Initiative, Swedish/Issaquah is one of the top-performing hospitals in the United States for energy performance. The 175-bed Swedish/ Issaquah installed a heat-recovery chiller to capture the heat generated by cooling devices, built green roofs and made targeted energy usage goals with Puget Sound Energy, the local electricity and gas utility company. UCSF Medical Center (San Francisco). This past April, UCSF Medical Center published its first sustainability report, something few other hospitals and health systems have done. UCSF Medical Center creates its sustainability goals through the university's LivingGreen program. The medical center saves roughly $250,000 per year, on average, through greening efforts in its operating rooms. UCSF Medical Center, an active member and signatory in several healthcare sustainability initiatives and groups, also composts 90 percent of food waste. University Hospitals Case Medical Center (Cleveland). University Hospitals is one of the greenest healthcare organizations in the country, as it and several of its affiliate hospitals received 11 environmental excellence awards from Practice Greenhealth in 2013. UH Case Medical Center, the 1,032-bed tertiary flagship of UH, received both the Partner Recognition and Making Medicine Mercury Free awards from Practice Greenhealth. The hospital also follows the central tenets of UH's environmental commitment — a 12-point plan that outlines how it will become a leader in sustainable healthcare while fulfilling its mission. University Medical Center of Princeton at Plainsboro (N.J.). The $447 million, 338-bed University Medical Center of Princeton at Plainsboro opened as a new facility in May 2012, and it has become a model for sustainable design and environmental practices. Solar panels in the employee parking lot produce enough energy to power 30 homes per year, and its entire energy strategy is centered on removing energy from the power grid during high-cost, peak-demand hours. In total, the new facility's features brought down UMCPP's carbon footprint 50 percent. University of Michigan Medical Center (Ann Arbor). In 2012, the University of Michigan Medical Center, the major academic medical center within the University of Michigan Hospitals and Health Centers, completed 12 energy conservation projects. These included installing advanced air handling unit controls, restructuring heating and cooling schedules, retrofitting water fixtures and putting in occupancy sensors for lighting and ventilation. UMMC and UMHHC also reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 3 percent and raised the overall recycle rate to 28 percent of all waste. Vidant Chowan Hospital (Edenton, N.C.). The 49-bed Vidant Chowan Hospital, a member of Vidant Health in Greenville, N.C. that recorded more than 2,100 admissions in 2012, has become one of the greenest hospitals with less than 50 beds over the past year. In May, it received two awards from Practice Greenhealth: Partner for Change and Making Medicine Mercury Free. The energy-efficient facility also monitors its footprint through the EPA's Energy Star portfolio. Virginia Mason Medical Center (Seattle). Virginia Mason Medical Center's sustainability practices are among the most highly recognized for healthcare organizations across country. The 336-bed hospital's environmental stewardship program, EnviroMason, is based off the Virginia Mason Production System, which encourages employee-led and Lean-based techniques to identify waste and instill environmental changes. Under EnviroMason, Virginia Mason became the first hospital in the Pacific Northwest to eliminate garbage cans and Styrofoam. West Kendall Baptist Hospital (Miami). The 133-bed West Kendall Baptist Hospital, a teaching facility within Coral Gables-based Baptist Health South Florida, opened in April 2011, marking the first new hospital in Miami in roughly 35 years. Within six months of opening, it received LEED Gold certification due to its location near accessible mass transit, efficient water flow design, investments in green power through renewable energy credits and other sustainability-based efforts. Women and Infants Hospital of Rhode Island (Providence). In 2010, Women and Infants Hospital, along with three other organizations, helped form Hospitals for a Healthy Environment in Rhode Island. H2ERI's main focus is to help healthcare providers in the state transition to best practices that encourage environmental sustainability, such as reducing medical devices that have toxic compounds like PVC and DEHP. The 247-bed Women and Infants also constructed a new pavilion in 2010 that achieved LEED Gold certification. Yale-New Haven (Conn.) Hospital. Yale-New Haven Hospital has implemented a progressive sustainability approach for the past several years, and its efforts yielded positive results in 2012. Last year, the 1,008-bed YNHH reduced medical waste volume 2 percent, recycled 95 percent of major construction and demolition debris and diverted more than 300,000 pounds of food waste into a bio-digester. The hospital also received various awards for its efforts in 2012, including a Leadership Award for Sustainability Excellence from VHA and Making Medicine Mercury Free Award from Practice Greenhealth. n

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