VHA, Novation receive 2015 Champion for Change Award for internal sustainability efforts

VHA Inc. and Novation have received the 2015 Champion for Change Award from Practice Greenhealth for their collaborative efforts toward greening their internal operations and helping their members improve their environmental footprint. Practice Greenhealth is the nation's leading health care resource that promotes environmental stewardship while improving patient safety and outcomes.

"We are proud to receive this award from Practice Greenhealth for our internal sustainability efforts as well as the specialized programs and support we provide to our members to help them meet their goals in this area," said Terri Scannell, director of corporate citizenship and sustainability for VHA.

"Sustainability efforts are a concern that spans every aspect of a health system," said Brent Gee, Novation's senior director program services. "VHA and Novation will continue to collaboratively support those efforts through our contracts and advisory services that help hospitals meet their goals for sustainability throughout their care delivery settings."

Some of the key sustainability initiatives supported by VHA and Novation include:

• Environmentally Preferred Purchasing Program to help members meet their sustainability goals in a cost-effective manner
• Leading Practice Blueprints for members that provide a roadmap for implementing a variety of sustainability initiatives including energy conservation, waste reduction, renewable energy, greening the OR, eliminating Styrofoam and cultural alignment of sustainability goals
• Energy Solutions portfolio which enables up to a 30% conservation in annual energy consumption for member health systems
• Reprocessing contracts that helped members and affiliates save more than $86 million and divert 3.3 million tons out of landfills in 2014
• Attaining LEED Silver certification for VHA and Novation's corporate facility located in Irving, TX