The Hospital Corporation of America is going green.
The Nashville, Tenn.-based corporation, which owns 163 hospitals and 112 outpatient centers in 20 states and Great Britain, has joined Practice Greenhealth, a group for organizations in the healthcare community that have made a commitment to sustainable, eco-friendly practices.
“Our intention is to become a leader in environmental practices among healthcare companies,” said Alan Yuspeh, senior vice president and chief ethics and compliance officer for HCA.
Yuspeh said HCA’s relationship with Practice Greenhealth was the beginning of a new commitment to a comprehensive environmental strategy. He acknowledged, however, that there would undoubtedly be challenges as individual HCA hospitals – which are locally managed – implemented sustainable practices.
Each HCA hospital will appoint a sustainability coordinator to lead the effort on behalf of his or her facility. As members of Practice Greenhealth, each HCA hospital will be able to share sustainability best practices from other members.
Bob Jarboe, executive director of Practice Greenhealth, said 2009 might have been the “tipping point” for the sustainability movement in healthcare.
“Historically, the healthcare sector has been one of the largest consumers of energy and water and generates tons of solid and medical waste,” said Jarboe. He said there is growing evidence that greener facilities improve patient outcomes, decrease lengths of stay, and improve the health and performance of healthcare workers.
Jarboe also noted that sustainability practices could help hospitals save money as well as minimizing liability and compliance risks.
“We are thrilled that HCA has joined,” said Jarboe. “We recognize the tremendous commitment this represents. This is a very exciting addition to our membership roster.”
With the addition of HCA, Practice Greenhealth membership now exceeds 1,000 organizations. Members include individual hospitals, healthcare systems, businesses in the healthcare community and other stakeholders.
Some of the most renowned health systems in the United States have committed to the sustainability agenda with Practice Greenhealth. They include Cleveland Clinic, Catholic Healthcare West, Kaiser Permanente, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, the entire Veterans Health Administration system, and the U.S. Army Hospital System (MEDCOM).