Practice Greenhealth names St. Cloud Hospital a “Partner for Change”

St. Cloud Hospital was honored with the 2016 “Greenhealth Partner for Change” award by Practice Greenhealth, the nation’s leading health care community of non-profit membership organizations dedicated to creating better, safer, greener workplaces and communities.

The Greenhealth Partner for Change Award recognizes health care facilities that continuously improve and expand upon their energy efficiency, mercury elimination, waste reduction, recycling and source reduction programs.

“Stewardship is a core value of St. Cloud Hospital and CentraCare Health as a whole,” said Dustin Maddy, CentraCare Health Sustainability Program Specialist. “We work hard to minimize our carbon footprint and improve community health while providing high quality health care.”

St. Cloud Hospital achievements in 2015 include:

• 23 percent of all solid wastes were recycled diverting more than 400 tons from landfills;
• No new items containing mercury were purchased;
• Polystyrene food service containers were eliminated;
• The inventory of reusable sterilization containers was expanded to further reduce the need for hard-to-recycle blue wrap; and
• Hazardous waste generation was reduced by 20 percent from the previous year.

About Practice Greenhealth:

Practice Greenhealth is the nation’s leading health care community dedicated to transforming health care worldwide so that it reduces its environmental footprint, becomes a community anchor for sustainability and a leader in the global movement for environmental health and justice. To learn more about Practice Greenhealth visit www.practicegreenhealth.org.