St. Joseph's Medical Center is proud to have received the Partner for Change Award from Practice Greenhealth, the nation’s leading organization dedicated to environmental sustainability in health care.
“The care of our common home is integral to our mission at St. Joseph’s, to the health of our community and our world," said Sister Abby Newton, OP, Vice President of Mission Integration.
The Partner for Change Award recognizes health care facilities that continuously improve and expand upon programs to eliminate mercury, reduce and recycle waste, source products sustainably, and more. Winning facilities must demonstrate that they are recycling at least 15 percent of their total waste, have reduced regulated medical waste, are on track to eliminate mercury, and have developed successful sustainability programs in many areas.
“As more and more hospitals embed sustainability into their operations, the bar for environmental excellence increases every year,” said Gary Cohen, president of Practice Greenhealth. “St. Joseph's demonstrates the kind of leadership, innovation, and performance that can drive the entire health sector toward more environmentally responsible practices.”
St. Joseph's recent environmental achievements include the following:
- Diverted over 77,500 lbs of plastic from landfills
- Used 11,937 lbs of reprocessed medical devices
- Recycled over 183,500 lbs of cardboard and 12,700 lbs of mixed recycling waste
The award is one of Practice Greenhealth’s Environmental Excellence Awards given to honor health care’s achievements in sustainability. The award will be formally presented at the Environmental Excellence Awards Gala May 9 in Nashville duringCleanMed, the premier national conference for leaders in health care sustainability.
In addition to being a Practice Greenhealth award recipient, St. Joseph's was also the first hospital in the state to be recognized as a Certified Green Business, and has received the Governor's Environmental and Economic Leadership Award, which is the state's highest environmental honor.