LifeBridge Health Honored as 2015 Trailblazer for Environmental Leadership Role
Baltimore, MD - LifeBridge Health was recently recognized by Maryland Hospitals for a Healthy Environment (MD H2E) with a 2015 Trailblazer award for leadership in sustainable practices. This acknowledgement involved innovative actions and culture change that significantly cut down on regulated medical waste (RMW) generated in operating rooms.
LifeBridge Health put a program into place to empower surgical teams to be a major force in the greening process. As sustainability champions, they not only focused on reducing RMW but on incorporating new practices into their everyday routines.
Surgical teams now separate regular trash, recyclable materials and RMW. This is especially meaningful because operating rooms are some of the largest generators of waste in any hospital system. Due to this commitment, LifeBridge Health has reduced RMW in operating rooms by 16 percent in just two years.
Additionally, because of the efforts of surgical teams and the efforts of other departments, LifeBridge Health, as a system, has reduced RMW by more than four million pounds and increased recycling by more than three million pounds since the sustainable program began about a decade ago.
LifeBridge Health was one of four hospital systems and two healthcare professionals to earn a 2015 Trailblazer award which identifies organizations and individuals dedicated to environmental health and reducing their environmental footprints with measureable improved results.
The awards were handed out at a recent Maryland Hospital Association ceremony. The winners will share their stories and some tips at a MD H2E Trailblazer Event, scheduled for October.
LifeBridge Health is one of the largest, most comprehensive providers of health services in Maryland. LifeBridge Health includes Sinai Hospital, Northwest Hospital, Carroll Hospital, Levindale Hebrew Geriatric Center and Hospital, and related subsidiaries and affiliates. For more information, visit lbhstaging22.lifebridgehealth.org.
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