News Release

For more information contact: Neha Patel, 503-233-1510, neha@oregon-health.org

Area Hospitals EARN TOP NATIONAL AWARDS Honoring HEALTH CARE'S ENVIRONMENTAL LEADERS

Seven Oregon hospitals were recognized among 190 healthcare recipients by the national organization, Hospitals for a Healthy Environment (H2E) for outstanding achievements in improving the healthcare industry’s environmental performance. This impressive number of award winners – more than double that of previous years – is the latest indication of the growing emphasis the health care field is placing on its environmental impact. The health care sector has been at the forefront of a movement to demonstrate that improved environmental performance and operational efficiency make sound business sense.

The annual H2E Awards Ceremony took place in Seattle and featured the presentation of awards such as Environmental Leadership, Partners for Change, Making Medicine Mercury Free, Partner Recognition and Champions for Change Award for their efforts to improve health care’s environmental performance. Hospital achievements include:

· Doubling a facility’s recycling rate in one year

· Saving 2-5 million gallons of water each month by using recycled water for landscaping

· Collecting 465 pounds of batteries for recycling

· Distilling and recycling xylene, formalin and ethanol used in the hospital’s laboratory

· Switching to the use of DEHP-free IV bags and tubing

· Using Green Seal certified cleaning products

· Reducing regulated medical waste by 40 tons per year by instituting a reusable pharmaceutical bin collection program

· Providing environmentally preferable products through group purchasing organization contracts

Legacy Health System in Portland was among 14 hospitals presented with a Environmental Leadership Award, the nation’s highest environmental honor for hospitals. From maintaining a phenomenal 46% recycling rate, to eliminating 5,000 pounds of waste by reprocessing single-use devices, to saving $200,000 by switching to energy efficient lighting, this year’s Environmental Leadership Award winners are setting the highest standards of environmental performance in health care.

Kaiser Permanente Northwest Region, Legacy Heath System, and Providence St. Vincent Medical Center received the Making Medicine Mercury Free Award for virtually eliminating mercury devices from their facilities and discontinuing the purchase of new mercury containing devices.

Oregon Health & Science University, Providence Newberg Hospital and Providence St. Vincent Medical Center were recipients of the Partners for Change Award for the significant progress they have made over the past year toward reducing waste, preventing pollution, and eliminating mercury from their facilities.

Providence Milwaukie Hospital and Providence Portland Medical Center received the Partner Recognition Award as hospitals relatively new programs but deserve recognition for their early achievements.

The Oregon Center for Environmental Health, a non-profit group focused on pollution prevention issues, coordinates the award winning, Oregon Hospitals for a Healthy Environment program and has been working to promote the national H2E program in the Northwest. www.oregon-health.org H2E is creating a national movement for environmental sustainability in health care. A non-profit organization jointly founded by the American Hospital Association, the US Environmental Protection Agency, Health Care Without Harm and the American Nurses Association, H2E educates health care professionals about pollution prevention opportunities, rewards the sector’s best performers, and provides a wealth of practical tools and resources to facilitate the industry’s movement toward environmental sustainability. www.h2e-online.org