Five-Minute Consult

Kenneth Haber
Vice President of Support Services
New York-Presbyterian Hospital
New York City

Kenneth Haber discusses New York-Presbyterian Hospital's implementation of a new green cleaning package from Betco Corporation, part of the hospital's Sustainability program.

Haber: The environmental services department had more than 25-30 different types of chemicals in use at any given time. The green cleaning program allowed us to consolidate all of those different chemicals into three standard daily chemicals.

We installed dilution centers that mix the chemicals for the staff. In the old days, the staff would measure out three ounces of a chemical and a gallon of water, and with certain chemicals you would have to allow it to sit for a period of time. They no longer have to do that.

We have more than 800 housekeeping staff members, so it took some time for training. The employees know these chemicals are safer for them and the patients, and they are extremely pleased that they are contributing to the environment. The other benefit is the standardization across the campuses. Not only were the practices different across all the campuses, but the products themselves were completely different. So by standardizing the program, it was just a home run for everybody.

—Carrie Vaughan