Sinai Hospital, Northwest Hospital, and Levindale Hebrew Geriatric Center and Hospital were award winners at the 2010 Environmental Excellence Awards ceremony at the CleanMed conference.
Sinai and Northwest won the Partner for Change with Distinction Award and the Making Medicine Mercury-Free Award. Levindale won the Partner for Change Award and the Making Medicine Mercury-Free award. The award winners are chosen by Practice Greenhealth, the nation’s leading organization for health care institutions dedicated to creating a healthier environment.
The Partner for Change with Distinction Award is a new recognition for health care facilities that have achieved improvements in mercury elimination, waste reduction and pollution prevention. These improvements include the installation of bi-fuel generators at Sinai and Northwest that are cutting emissions by 80 percent. Other successes include reducing medical waste across LifeBridge Health from 25 percent to 11 percent of the total waste stream; composting 236,070 pounds of food from the hospital cafeterias in 2009; reducing chemicals in cleaning and pesticide management; and increasing recycling systemwide from 8 percent in fiscal year 2008 to 16 percent in fiscal year 2010.
The Making Medicine Mercury-Free award is a testament to Sinai, Northwest and Levindale’s commitment to virtually eliminating mercury. This toxic metal is traditionally found in thermometers, batteries, feeding tubes and can cause harmful health effects in patients. By making medicine mercury-free, LifeBridge Health is ensuring healthier patients and reducing mercury from infiltrating our environment.
The Practice Greenhealth awards reflect LifeBridge Health’s continued commitment to environmental excellence. Previous honors have included the Baltimore Business Journal’s 2009 Award for Green Policy, a 2009 Environmental Protection Agency Trailblazer Award and a 2010 Communitas Award in the category of Green Initiatives.
To see a complete list of 2010 award winners at the CleanMed conference, click here.
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