EAU CLAIRE – On May 19, HSHS Sacred Heart and St. Joseph’s hospitals were awarded the “Greenhealth Partner for Change” Awards by Practice Greenhealth, 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. The awards honor outstanding environmental achievements in the health care sector.
The Greenhealth Partner for Change Award recognizes health care facilities that continuously improve and expand upon their mercury elimination, waste reduction, recycling and source reduction programs. At a minimum, facilities applying for this award must be recycling 15 percent of their total waste, have reduced regulated medical waste, are well along the way to mercury elimination, and have developed other successful pollution prevention programs in many different areas.
“Our HSHS western Wisconsin division is committed to improving the health of our patients, staff and community as a whole,” said Julie Manas, president and CEO, HSHS Sacred Heart Hospital. “We take pride in our sustainability efforts to lessen our impact on the environment.”
“Our Hospital Sisters have a Franciscan tradition of caring for the environment,” said Joan Coffman, president and CEO, HSHS St. Joseph’s Hospital. “It continues to be our responsibility today so we can preserve health and wellbeing for generations to come.”
The Practice Greenhealth Environmental Excellence Awards were presented at the CleanMed Conference and Exhibition in Dallas. Dan Abramczak, director of nutritional services at Sacred Heart Hospital, attended this year’s conference on behalf of Sacred Heart and St. Joseph’s hospitals.