San Antonio, Texas (May 29, 2013)--Methodist Stone Oak Hospital was awarded the 2013 “Partner for Change” Award by Practice Greenhealth, the nation’s leading health care membership community that empowers its members to increase their efficiencies and environmental stewardship while improving patient safety and care. The award is one of the organization’s Environmental Excellence Awards given each year to honor outstanding environmental achievements in the health care sector.
Methodist Stone Oak Hospital is the only hospital in Texas to win the award.
The Partner for Change Award recognizes health care facilities that continuously improve and expand upon their mercury elimination, waste reduction, recycling and source reduction programs. At a minimum, facilities applying for this award must be recycling 15 percent of their total waste, have reduced regulated medical waste, are well along the way to mercury elimination, and have developed other successful pollution prevention programs in many different areas.
“We have had a commitment to environmental stewardship since we opened the hospital,” said David Bourke, Environmental Services Director for Methodist Stone Oak Hospital. “Among our most successful efforts has been the work of our Pharmaceutical Waste Team. Proper disposal of drugs has been identified as a growing problem within the health care industry. Proper recognition, handling and disposal of these drugs are critical from an environmental, safety and regulatory perspective. Bourke added that Methodist Stone Oak Hospital was the first hospital in San Antonio to implement composting, using education and training to successfully implement a composting program in the food service department.
“This award proves that Methodist Stone Oak Hospital is committed to eliminating mercury, reducing waste, recycling and preventing pollution, among other environmentally preferable practices,” said Laura Wenger, RN, executive director, Practice Greenhealth. “Practice Greenhealth is pleased to recognize them for these efforts.”
As evidenced in a recent Health Care Research Collaborative study, “Can Sustainable Hospitals Help Bend the Health Care Cost Curve?” introducing environmental sustainability measures in hospitals not only results in significant savings, it won’t increase operating costs. The implications are clear — given the return on investment, all hospitals should adopt and expand their sustainability programs.
The Practice Greenhealth Environmental Excellence Awards were presented in Boston, MA, at CleanMed, The premier national environmental conference for leaders in health care sustainability.
About Methodist Stone Oak Hospital
Methodist Stone Oak Hospital opened in 2009 as part of the Methodist Healthcare System. The hospital’s services include general surgery, orthopedics, heart procedures, women’s services including obstetrics and a newborn intensive care unit, oncology, and emergency care. The hospital recently completed the addition of three new operating rooms and additional space for pre- and post-op surgery patients. The hospital is a member of the Texas Institute for Robotic Surgery with two daVinci® Surgical Systems in operation. The hospital was recently recognized as a WomenCertified® hospital for addressing the special health care needs of women with heart disease. Visit www.StoneOakHealth.com for more information.
About Practice Greenhealth
Practice Greenhealth is the nation’s leading membership and networking organization for institutions in the health care community that have made a commitment to sustainable, eco-friendly practices. For more information on Practice Greenhealth, visit www.practicegreenhealth.org.