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Mercy Wins National "Partner For Change" Award For Environmental Achievement
The Partner for Change Award was presented on Wednesday evening, May 21, 2008 to Mercy Medical Center during ceremonies held at the Practice Greenhealth Environmental Excellence Awards in Pittsburgh, PA, Thomas R. Mullen, President and CEO of the 134-year-old, Baltimore-based hospital, has announced.
Practice Greenhealth executive director, Bob Jarboe, noted in correspondence addressed to Mr. Mullen that the Partner for Change award “is reserved for facilities that stand apart from the crowd and are working to improve and expand upon programs that eliminate mercury, reduce waste and prevent pollution.”
“Environmental Excellence Awards recognize success stories,” Mr. Jarboe said. “Mercy Medical Center received the award for developing successful pollution prevention programs and has made quality patient care and the environment a priority. As a result, everyone will see long term benefits. Their actions have led to some dramatic changes.”
According to Rachel Demunda, Director of Environmental Health and Safety at Mercy, the hospital has instituted a number of “green” initiatives and programs over the past 18 months, including:
- Medical waste reduction
- Recycling: paper, cardboard, beverage containers, batteries, xylene, mercury, lead, (IT: electronics, printer cartridges); construction & demolition debris
- Food composting
- Mercury phase out (184 mercury sphygmomanometers with non-mercury style next fiscal year, and we will be establishing a purchasing policy that prohibits the purchase of mercury containing items where a suitable non-mercury or low mercury alternative is available. This would include things like fluorescent bulbs, electrical switches and thermostats.)
- Integrated pest management
- Green cleaning chemicals and micro-fiber mops
- CURA (Mercy’s food vendor) is buying locally grown produce/organics
- Kitchen grease waste is sent for recycling
- Assisting physician offices in going paperless through EHR deployment – less paper kills fewer trees, lowers costs, etc.
- Virtualizing hardware in our data center to minimize power consumption – fewer servers means less power consumption both from the server and the cooling units
- Virtualizing end-user devices – less power consumption
- Recycling outdated hardware – keeping hazardous materials out of landfills
- New tower will be more efficient from an IT standpoint
- Aggressive recycling and waste reduction program at Mercy
- Green rooftops for new inpatient tower, Mary Catherine Bunting Center (to open in fall 2010)
“Health care generates thousands of tons of waste everyday – by some estimates about 15 pounds per patient per day. This is harmful to the environment and is not cost-effective. At Mercy, we are constantly seeking ways to reduce our impact on the environment while improving and enhancing our level of service to our patients. Receiving this award is evidence that we are on the right track,” Mr. Mullen said.
The Practice Greenhealth Awards were presented today in conjunction with CleanMed 2008, a global conference for environmental leaders in health care. In addition to supporting the awards, Practice Greenhealth, formerly Hospitals for a Healthy Environment (H2E), is a source of environmental solutions for the health care sector.
Practice Greenhealth is the result of the merger of two leading organizations – Hospitals for a Healthy Environment (H2E) and the Green Guide for Health Care (GGHC) – with a new clean energy and energy efficiency program – Healthcare Clean Energy Exchange (HCEE). For more information on Practice Greenhealth, healthy initiatives, current trends, news and views, and other links to earth-friendly organizations, visit www.practicegreenhealth.org.
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