It may seem that going green is an effort bound to take a hit during this recession. However, that's not necessarily true.
There are financial benefits to becoming more environmentally friendly, say the two winners of this year's Practice Greenhealth Environmental Leadership Circle Award.
"For the most part, all of our environmental efforts have saved us money," says John Ebers, sustainable business officer at Metro Health Hospital in Wyoming, MI, one of the facilities that received the award. "Some of [our efforts] take a longer-term view … but I think that speaks volumes about our organization."
The Environmental Leadership Circle Award—Practice Greenhealth's highest honor—goes to hospitals setting the highest standards for environmental practices. Practice Greenhealth is a national association that promotes environmentally beneficial efforts in healthcare.
Greening your hospital and changing habits don't happen quickly, but there are some higher-reward items to go after first—namely, more efficient energy use and recycling more material instead of throwing it in the trash barrel, says Dawn LeBaron, vice president of hospital services at Fletcher Allen Health Care of Burlington, VT, the other award winner.
Fletcher Allen had a recycling program in its business and physician office for some time, but LeBaron and her colleagues recently pushed it further, getting recycling bins for newspapers and medical supplies in patient rooms. They also chase down and recycle IV bags and blue wrap in which sterile supplies come packaged.
The key to making any recycling program work is education through departmental meetings, which is then reinforced with small reminders (e.g., e-mails).
A big money-waster is excessive use of lights. Ebers says the following two measures will show results quickly:
- Changing light fixtures from T12 to T8 wherever possible. T12 and T8 refer to light tube diameters, with the smaller T8s being more energy efficient.
- Swapping out incandescent lights for LED lights on exit signs, because LEDs last longer.
LeBaron adds that going after the biggest light-wasters—business office and restrooms—with motion detectors that switch off lights when no one is around helped Fletcher Allen lower consumption. In total, the facility decreased electrical demand by 8% from 2007 to 2008.
Water reduction programs are also within the reach of many hospitals. Metro Health cut down on irrigation, having planted hardy, native vegetation on its grounds. These plants needed irrigation the first year to establish themselves, but will look good without it in future seasons.
This year, Metro Health is shutting off the irrigation on 20,000 square feet of landscaping, Ebers says.