Fremont, Calif. – Washington Hospital was honored with a “Partner Recognition
Award” by Practice Greenhealth, a national membership organization
for health care facilities committed to environmentally responsible operations.
The award is one of the organization’s Environmental Excellence
Awards given each year to honor outstanding environmental achievements
in health care sector.
“Washington Hospital has been singled out for their efforts to protect
patient health and preserve the environment,” said Bob Jarboe, Executive
Director of Practice Greenhealth. “Washington Hospital’s approach
to providing health care demonstrates a keen understanding of the impact
our activities have on the environment and a commitments to build on the
achievements they have made so far.”
The Practice Greenhealth review committee noted that even though Washington
Hospital had only recently formalized its comprehensive program in 2008,
the Hospital has made a lot of progress. The review committee noted projects
such as: recycling, food services composting, electronic recycling, donation
of used medical equipment and an annual swap meet for surplus office supplies,
single use device reprocessing, implementation of reusable sterilizer
containers, and green certification for Washington Hospital’s planned
construction.
“Improving environmental performance is an important objective for
Washington Hospital,” said Nancy Farber, chief executive officer
of Washington Hospital Healthcare System. “For our Hospital, this
is a long-term commitment as well as another way to make our Hospital
an even better place to provide care to our patients.”
The Practice Greenhealth Environmental Excellence Awards celebrate the
achievements and commitment of health care’s environmental champions.
This year’s awards were held in conjunction with CleanMed 2009,
a global conference for environmental leaders in health care. The Partner
Recognition Award is for healthcare facilities that have begun to work
on environmental improvements, achieved some progress, and have less than
10 percent recycling rate for the total waste stream.
Washington Hospital Healthcare System includes a 359-bed acute-care hospital;
the Taylor McAdam Bell Neuroscience Institute; The Gamma Knife® Center;
Washington Radiation Oncology Center; Washington Outpatient Surgery Center;
Washington Outpatient Rehabilitation Center; Washington Outpatient Catheterization
Laboratory; Washington Center for Joint Replacement; the Institute for
Minimally Invasive and Robotic Surgery; and Washington West, a complex
which houses Washington Women’s Center, Outpatient Imaging Center
and additional outpatient hospital services and administrative facilities.
Practice Greenhealth is the nation’s leading membership and networking
organization for institutions in the healthcare community that have made
a commitment to sustainable, eco-friendly practices. Members include hospitals,
healthcare systems, businesses and other stakeholders engaged in the greening
of healthcare to improve the health of patients, staff and the environment.