Boston hospitals take steps to set healthy examples for patients

In an effort to practice what they preach, Boston-area hospitals have begun to adopt widespread changes to encourage healthier eating among patients, visitors, and staff and to make their own facilities less damaging to the environment. Sugary sodas, candy bars, harsh cleaning agents, and disposable surgical tools are being phased out in favor of more local produce, fruit-infused water stations, solar panels, and reusable instruments. More than 40 hospitals in Massachusetts, including all 10 in the Partners HealthCare system, and 900 hospitals nationwide have joined a healthier hospitals initiative, launched in 2012.