• E-mail
• Print
• RSS

It isn’t easy being green--in hospitals

Nurse Leader Weekly, June 9, 2008

Want to receive articles like this one in your inbox? Subscribe to Nurse Leader Weekly!

You know how important it is to provide excellent care for your patients. But what about the care you provide to the environment?

Health Care Without Harm (HCWH), which supports the idea that professionals in the healthcare industry are responsible for managing waste in order to protect both the public and the environment, is enforcing the need for ecological-friendly methods at hospitals across the country. In doing so, hospitals can limit their risk of dangerous air pollutants and create a safer work environment.

HCWH attributes more than two million tons of waste yearly to hospitals. To remedy this, the organization recommends that facilities create a "green team" comprising administrators, housekeepers, nurses, and other staff members involved in waste handling to come up with a unified plan of action of waste management. It may also be beneficial to conduct a waste audit to screen for materials that enter and exit a facility. Along with informing staff of appropriate methods of segregating waste, HCWH encourages recycling of all possible items.

Sources: Nurse.com and Health Care Without Harm.

Want to receive articles like this one in your inbox? Subscribe to Nurse Leader Weekly!

• Comment
• E-mail to a Colleague
• Print
• RSS
• Archive

Comments