U.S. hospitals place high precedence on environmentally responsible practices

Summary: Results of a recent survey commissioned by StandPoint indicate that U.S. Hospitals are putting a higher priority on implementing environmentally responsible practices. The major initiatives fall into two groups -- Waste Stream Management and Infrastructure.

A primary initiative of the current political administration is to ensure that the United States is environmentally responsible. Corporations are putting more emphasis on environmentally friendly products, conserving energy and reducing waste. Hospitals are no exception.

StandPoint, an Atlanta-based healthcare market research firm, conducted a survey on Environmental Practices in U.S. Hospitals in May 2009. A total of 6,800 hospital personnel, subscribers of Healthcare Purchasing News, were invited to participate. Of those, 237 started the survey and 117 completed it. 97% of the respondents work in acute care hospitals.

Two major category initiatives emerged from the survey:

-- Waste Stream Management -- reducing the number of items typically discarded, such as bio-hazardous medical waste and prescription drug disposal -- Infrastructure -- reducing a hospital's overall footprint on the environment through such initiatives as energy efficiency and energy reduction.

The results indicated that 4 out of 5 hospital employees agree that emphasis on environmental issues reduces waste and costs. Those hospitals who have already implemented an Environmental Purchasing Plan (EPP) cited that limiting items typically sent to landfills are a primary goal. Infrastructure initiatives, although still considered of high importance, have less awareness and less adoption, with the exception of lowering energy consumption.

According to Creel, "The results indicate that the adoption of environmentally forward policies is as much about being a good steward as it is about reducing costs."