Cardinal Health joins Practice Greenhealth

To further bolster its commitment to environmental sustainability, Cardinal Health today announced that it has joined Practice Greenhealth, a membership organization for institutions and businesses in the health care field who are engaged in reducing their environmental footprints.

Practice Greenhealth provides practical guidance, training, consultation, and business solutions to help its members in their efforts to implement environmentally responsible practices.  Cardinal Health joins the more than 1,000 health care providers that have joined the group since 2008.

Cardinal Health is committed to helping increase efficiencies and cost-effectiveness in health care," said Frank Macielak, vice president of Environment, Health and Safety at Cardinal Health. "Our Practice Greenhealth membership is a perfect complement to the work we're already doing in the areas of pollution prevention, energy efficiency, and product stewardship."

The Cardinal Health membership also marks an extension of its involvement with the Practice Greenhealth "Greening the Operating Room Initiative," which aims to reduce the environmental footprint of operating suites in hospitals across the country. Specifically, Cardinal Health is helping health care providers reduce the amount of packaging used for and waste generated with surgical procedures through its Presource® procedure packs, which consolidate individual supplies into procedure-specific kits. The customized kits help further reduce waste by reducing the number of unused items in a procedure.

"We are very pleased to welcome Cardinal Health to the Practice Greenhealth member community," stated Anna Gilmore Hall, executive director of Practice Greenhealth. "Their membership demonstrates a real commitment to improving the environmental impact on their customers and community."

Practice Greenhealth offers a variety of programs to its members, including environmental purchasing, sustainable operations, continuing education, webinars, networking opportunities, communications, and annual awards recognizing the achievements of member institutions.