Washington Hospital recognizes the critical link between the health of each individual and the health of the environment. As the hospital reaffirms its commitment to promoting a healthier community, it’s taking a leading role in environmental awareness. See how our environmental efforts are being recognized.

In November 2010, Washington Hospital received the 2010 StopWaste Business Efficiency Award for outstanding achievements in waste reduction and environmental performance. The Hospital was singled out with 11 other local companies and organizations by StopWaste.org, which the Alameda County Waste Management Authority.

Washington Hospital Receives 2010 StopWaste Business Efficiency Award 

Since the Hospital’s Green Team was formed two years ago, several facility-wide recycling and compostable collection programs have been implemented. Highlights in the last year have included a successful take-back program for the public, allowing people to drop off unwanted or un-used medications for safe disposal. This program collected two tons of medications in 2009.

The hospital also replaced disposable plastic containers for used syringes and other medical sharps with reusable ones throughout the facility. This program alone is expected to eliminate sending 9.1 tons of plastic waste to the landfill each year.

"We recognize the critical link between the health of each individual and the health of the environment," said Paul Kelley, Director of Biomedical Engineering and Green Team Chair. "That’s why we are committed to environmentally responsible practices and are taking the lead to promote a healthier community."

Washington Hospital Receives National Environmental Award

For the second consecutive year, Washington Hospital has earned an Environmental Excellence Award from Practice Greenhealth, a national organization for healthcare institutions that have made a commitment to environmentally responsible practices. The "Partner for Change Award" was presented in recognition of Washington Hospital’s achievements in developing programs to prevent pollution, reduce and recycle solid waste, eliminate mercury, reduce water and energy consumption and establish "green" purchasing policies.

"We worked very hard to earn this award," says Paul Kelley, Director of Biomedical Engineering and Green Initiative at Washington Hospital. "Practice Greenhealth presented Environmental Excellence Awards to only 245 institutions nationwide, which is a very slim percentage of the many healthcare organizations around the country. Personally, I am most proud of the fact that so many people throughout the hospital are enthusiastic about reducing our environmental impact and offering their suggestions for improvement."

A Certified Biomedical Electronics Technician, Kelley is the Chair of Washington Hospital’s "Green Team" Committee that was created in August 2008. He attended the awards ceremony in Baltimore to accept the award on behalf of the hospital and attend the CleanMed global conference for environmental leaders in healthcare institutions.

"The conference in Baltimore gave me an opportunity to network with people from other hospitals and share ideas for future green initiatives," Kelley says. "For example, there was one session on reducing paper usage that also reduced technology costs. One hospital with about 900 employees previously had 800 single-function machines such as printers, copiers, fax machines and scanners. By converting to multi-function devices, they were able to save approximately $120,000 in repairs, toner, paper and so forth during the first year."

Some of the Green Team’s activities and accomplishments during 2009 and so far this year include:

• Reduced the use of bottled water by replacing 5-gallon dispensers with filtered tap water in employee break rooms wherever possible.
• Purchased micro-fiber mops that save water, reduce bacteria and reduce use of toxic cleaning chemicals.
• Implemented a hospital-wide recycling program, placing more than 40 recycling bins in employee break rooms and conference rooms and educating staff about proper recycling procedures.
• Implemented food composting in the cafeteria. All food waste is now composted through Fremont’s municipal facility.
• Reduced cardboard usage by requesting delivery of fresh produce in re-useable totes.
• Eliminated Styrofoam cups and take-out containers from the cafeteria, replacing them with a combination of compostable and recyclable plastic containers, and replacing plastic eating utensils with compostable ones.
• Assisted over 200 employees with filling out Stop Junk Mail kits. This effort will help eliminate 3.8 tons of paper waste per year and over 5 years will conserve 345 trees and 142,100 gallons of water and prevent the release of 93,380 lbs. of carbon dioxide.
• Converted printing of the hospital’s Currents magazine to recycled paper.
• Installed a new software system called Waste Tracker that records waste and recycling activity hospital-wide to improve future recycling efforts.
• Initiated development of plans for eliminating toxic mercury from hospital products and components.
• Implemented re-useable sharps containers hospital-wide, which is expected to eliminate sending 9.1 tons of plastic to the landfill.
• Developed a plan to introduce re-useable commuter mugs for hospital employees.
• Implemented a medication take-back program for the public, which allows people to drop off unused medications at Washington Hospital. In 2009, the hospital collected one ton of medications that otherwise would have gone into the sewer system or a landfill.
• Installed numerous water-free urinals, which will result in significant water savings.
• Replaced disposable laundry bags with re-useable bags, which will reduce our waste by 13,000 pounds per year and save almost $4,000 per year.
• Conserved energy and produced significant dollar savings by using fluorescent lights in place of incandescent bulbs on the construction site for the new energy plant, saving $149,854 over the 30 months of construction.
• Replaced refrigeration condensers, which will save 1.3 to1.4 million gallons of water per year for a cost savings exceeding $30,000 annually.
• Hosted the first annual "Let’s Go Green Together" community event with a farmers market, an exhibition hall for local agencies and vendors engaged in green activities, and educational games for families and children. Also provided free drop off of e-waste, confidential documents for shredding, sharps, and unwanted medications.
• Organized a "Zero Waste" event where no trash containers were available at the annual employee dinner during Hospital Week. All event refuse was composted or recycled instead of being sent to the landfill.

"We have already achieved many of our goals for 2010, including making great progress in becoming virtually mercury-free," Kelley notes. "We plan to continue our efforts to educate our staff and the community on ways to reduce our environmental impact, as well as to decrease our use of paper, increase recycling and minimize the use of bottled water. The Partner for Change Award really validates what we are doing."