EMORY Health Sciences News
http://emoryhealthnews.org
July 10, 2014
Two Emory hospitals initiate new program to “green” the
operating rooms
Media Contact: Janet Christenbury, 404-727-8599, jmchris@emory.edu
ATLANTA – Emory University Hospital Midtown (EUHM) and Emory University
Hospital (EUH) are going green, thanks to a new comprehensive waste
management plan. The hospitals are on a mission to reduce and divert waste by
implementing a new recycling program in the operating rooms (ORs) and other
patient care areas.
Emory Healthcare, which includes seven hospitals, and Emory University have a
combined goal of diverting landfill waste by 65 percent across all of Emory by
2015 through sophisticated recycling and composting programs. Emory
University Hospital Midtown kicked off the recycling program in May, and Emory
University Hospital is just beginning its new recycling efforts.
“Operating rooms create a tremendous volume of waste,” says Jane Duggan,
MD, assistant professor of anesthesiology, and lead of the OR Green Team at
EUHM. “Much of it is clean waste and can be recycled. Health care sustainability
is critical, and by diverting waste from landfills, we expect to take huge strides
forward in greening our campus.”
More than ever, hospital leaders are prioritizing and implementing sustainable
practices to minimize their environmental footprint. A conservative estimate from
Practice Greenhealth, the premier US organization for healthcare sustainability,
is that hospitals in the US produce almost 6 billion tons of waste annually, or 33
pounds per bed per day.
To reduce this waste, the hospitals are aligning with several companies to make
this mission a success. Medical technology company Stryker has placed bins in
every operating room to collect used medical equipment. Equipment being
collected includes laparoscopic devices, arthroscopic/orthopaedic devices (at
EUHM) and energy devices. Those devices will be taken to a facility in Florida for
recycling.
Stericycle, a medical and hazardous waste company, will collect all clean plastic
containers, clean plastic wrap, and clean cardboard boxes, many of which
package surgical and sterile medical equipment, for recycling. Stericycle has also
partnered with EUHM’s Environmental Services team to collect recyclable plastic,
aluminum, glass, and paper from common spaces such as waiting rooms,
lobbies and administrative spaces. Educational efforts on what to recycle and
what to place in regulated medical waste bins are ongoing.
“We have been busy training and orienting the operating room staff, nursing staff,
hospital departments and our physicians about the new waste management
program,” says Toni Wimby, associate administrator at Emory University Hospital
Midtown. “This new program will be a team effort for all involved and we are
excited to have it up and running.”
“Emory is committed to upholding healthy communities for its patients, staff and
the residents of Atlanta through its initiatives to reduce waste, energy and water
consumption across the system,” says Catherine Maloney, associate
administrator at Emory University Hospital.
Since 2007, Emory Healthcare has partnered with MedShare, an international,
non-profit organization that sends surplus medical supplies to underserved
hospitals and clinics. Emory Healthcare donates unused, unexpired supplies to
MedShare, as well as equipment that is no longer in use. Emory Healthcare
collected 159,000 pounds of supplies for MedShare in 2012 alone.
“Recycling and reducing medical waste protects public health by reducing
emissions from methane - a potent greenhouse gas - and exposure to other
toxins such as dioxins and heavy metals,” says Kelly Weisinger, program
coordinator for Emory’s Office of Sustainability Initiatives. “Emory Healthcare’s
efforts are not only reducing the industry’s impacts on public health and the
environment, but are promoting financial stewardship of Emory’s resources.”
Emory Johns Creek Hospital is working with Stryker to collect used surgical
equipment for recycling.
At Emory Saint Joseph’s Hospital, medical waste reduction is accomplished with
the help of a machine called a Chem Clav, which sterilizes and converts medical
waste to landfill waste. Emory Saint Joseph’s Hospital is the only hospital within
the Emory Healthcare system to have its own waste conversion system on site.
This technology has been used at the hospital for 18 years.
Also of note, Emory University Hospital Midtown and Emory University Hospital
have joined the Healthier Hospitals Initiative’s Less Waste Challenge, a
challenge to reduce regulated medical waste, increase recycling rates, and
increase construction and demolition waste recycling. These two hospitals join
dozens of others across the country to “green” their operations. Healthier
Hospitals Initiatives is a program developed out of collaboration between 12 of
the nation’s largest and most influential health systems and Health Care Without
Harm, the Center for Health Design, and Practice Greenhealth.
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