Premier healthcare alliance, 61 member hospitals receive national recognition for environmental excellence

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:
Amanda Forster
Premier healthcare alliance
202.879.8004

Alven Weil
Premier healthcare alliance
704.733.5797

Premier healthcare alliance, 61 member hospitals receive national recognition for environmental excellence

Premier honored for eighth consecutive year with "Champion for Change" award from Practice Greenhealth

Charlotte, N.C. (May 12, 2010) - The Premier healthcare alliance and 61 of its member hospitals have been honored by Practice Greenhealth (PGH) in recognition of their environmental leadership.

For the eighth year in a row, Premier received the "Champion for Change" award for its collaboration with alliance members to promote sustainable healthcare practices. The Champion for Change award is given to organizations that demonstrate success in greening their organizations and leadership in helping others improve their environmental stewardship. Premier alliance member hospitals were honored across six categories.

Premier received the award for its commitment to a clean environment, evidenced in its GreenHealthy® environmental leadership program, led by the Premier Safety Institute®. All resources and tools for Premier’s leadership program are publicly available on the Safety Institute website at https://premierinc.com/greenhealthy.

"Being a leader in our industry by setting the bar for environmentally sound business practices has successfully helped members of our alliance reduce greenhouse gas emissions; select safer and less toxic products; recycle floor coverings, lab solvents, and construction waste; purchase organically grown foods; and increase energy efficiency," said Susan DeVore, Premier’s president and CEO. "We are proud of our members, who are committed to greening their organizations while improving the quality, safety and effectiveness of patient care."

GreenHealthy includes Premier’s Environmentally Preferable Purchasing™ program; an internal corporate-wide Yes to Green program; leadership education and "quick win" case studies on sustainability best practices; and SPHERE™ (Securing Proven Healthcare Energy Reduction (for the) Ecosystem), a collaborative that builds on Premier’s commitment to a healthy environment, focusing on reducing industry energy costs, usage  and greenhouse gas emissions.

"Premier and alliance members have a commitment to sustainability and are proactively taking action to reduce our environmental footprint," said Gina Pugliese, R.N., M.S., vice president of the Premier Safety Institute. "Since launching of our SPHERE energy program, we helped member hospitals save more than $10 million in energy procurement alone and avoid 14,000 tons of CO2 emissions with the purchase of renewable energy."

Said Director of Premier’s Environmental Purchasing Program Kellie McNelis, "Premier identifies environmentally preferable products in our electronic product catalog for members. We recognize that identification of greener products is an ongoing process as we learn more about safer options that positively impact the environment."

Premier advocates for green healthcare policy by addressing safe and less toxic healthcare practices, including the need for Di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) labeling of products and more oversight of industrial chemicals with increased disclosure and promotion of safer alternatives.

Continued Pugliese, "As part of our Yes to Green program, in 2009 Premier recycled over 200,000 pounds of paper and more than 10,000 tons of computers and electronic products."

Premier recently joined a select group of companies and institutions known as e-Stewards® Enterprises, committed to using electronics recyclers that meet the world’s highest standards for responsible recycling. Premier has also joined a group of healthcare organizations that are endorsing guidelines for environmentally preferable IT purchasing and management developed by the Center for Environmental Health, a nonprofit member of the national Health Care Without Harm coalition.

GreenCorner®, one of Premier’s environmental Web resources, showcases hospital and supplier success stories about green initiatives that contribute to a safer, healthier community.

2010 Environmental Excellence Award winners include:

CHAMPION FOR CHANGE

SYSTEM FOR CHANGE

ENVIRONMENTAL LEADERSHIP CIRCLE

MAKING MEDICINE MERCURY-FREE

PARTNER FOR CHANGE

PARTNER FOR CHANGE WITH DISTINCTION (NEW)

PARTNER RECOGNITION

About Practice Greenhealth

Practice Greenhealth is the result of the merger of two leading organizations – Hospitals for a Healthy Environment (H2E) and the Green Guide for Health Care (GGHC) – with a new clean energy and energy efficiency program, Healthcare Clean Energy Exchange (HCEE). For more information on Practice Greenhealth, healthy initiatives, current trends, news and views, and other links to earth-friendly organizations, visit www.practicegreenhealth.org.

About the Premier healthcare alliance, 2006 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award recipient

Premier is a performance improvement alliance of more than 2,300 U.S. hospitals and 66,000-plus other healthcare sites working together to achieve high quality, cost-effective care. Owned by not-for-profit hospitals, Premier maintains the nation's most comprehensive repository of clinical, financial and outcomes information and operates a leading healthcare purchasing network. A world leader in helping deliver measurable improvements in care, Premier works with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and the United Kingdom's National Health Service North West to improve hospital performance. Headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., Premier also has offices in San Diego, Philadelphia and Washington. www.premierinc.com

 

Back to Safety news

Home | Reducing Costs | Improving Quality & Safety | Managing Risk | About Premier