Healthy Environment News

Medical Sharps Disposal Brochure Available for Hospital Patients and Visitors (6/9/11)

The Legislative Commission to Develop Alternatives to the Disposal of Medical Sharps in Household Waste has created a brochure to help educate the general public about safe sharps disposal in the home.

The brochures are free and 100 copies are available for each hospital. They've been sent to hospital diabetes educators or education directors throughout NH. It is hoped they can be shared with diabetic patients or displayed in areas where other patients or visitors can pick one up.

Waste Management, Inc. and Becton, Dickinson & Company funded the printing of the brochures. The printed brochures are in a limited supply and an electronic version is available online.

If you have any questions about the brochure or the work of the Sharps Commission, contact Debbie Augustine at 603-415-4256 or daugustine@nhha.org.

NH Pay for Performance energy program helps large users save on energy bills (5/27/11)

Looking for a way to help fund energy efficiency projects at your hospital? The NH Pay for Performance Program (NHP4P), an initiative of the New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission, is designed to address the energy efficiency needs of the commercial and industrial sector. The program matches large energy users with certified partners who help program participants develop an energy reduction plan for existing facilities and guide them through the process of implementing comprehensive efficiency measures to reduce energy consumption and save money.

To find out how to take advantage of the significant financial incentives available for your energy saving project(s), click HERE. Also, visit the NH Pay for Performance web site for more info on how to save energy and gain incentive earnings linked directly to your savings -- the more you save, the more you earn.

3 NH Hospitals Win 2011 Environmental Excellence Awards (4/7/11)

Practice Greenhealth, the nation's only membership association devoted to environmentally responsible health care, has announced its 2011 Environmental Excellence Award winners.

These competitive awards are given within the health care sector to institutions for outstanding programs to reduce the facility's environmental footprint. Three awards went to New Hampshire hospitals!

Concord Hospital: 2010 Partner for Change, with Distinction Award
This award recognizes healthcare facilities that have achieved improvements in their mercury elimination, waste reduction, and pollution prevention programs (above the Partner for Change basic criteria.) This includes at least 15% recycling, a more extensive sustainability program, and a show of leadership in the local community and/or in the health care sector.

St Joseph Hospital: Partner for Change Award
This award recognizes healthcare facilities that continuously improve and expand upon their mercury elimination, waste reduction, and pollution prevention programs. At a minimum, facilities applying for this award must be recycling 10% of their total waste, have a mercury elimination program in place with a plan for total elimination, and have developed other successful pollution prevention programs.

Parkland Medical Center: Partner Recognition Award:
This award acknowledges healthcare facilities that have begun to work on environmental improvements, achieved some progress, and have at least a 5% recycling rate for the total waste stream.

No award announcement would be complete without mentioning DHMC, a Sustained Member of the Environmental Leadership Circle. ELC members exemplify environmental excellence and set the highest standards for environmental practices in health care. To be considered, facilities must meet the criteria for the mercury-free award, recycle at least 25 percent of their total waste stream, have implemented numerous other innovative pollution prevention programs, and are leaders in their community.

Congratulations winners! And good luck to everybody else continuing environmental improvement/sustainabilty efforts at their hospitals. We'd love to hear from this year's winners about the measures they implemented to merit their awards at NH3E's meeting on June 2nd.