From eMDE, Maryland Department of the Environment’s (MDE) online newsletter:

Maryland Hospitals Honored for “Environmental Excellence”
by Laura Armstrong, Pollution Prevention Coordinator

An Anne Arundel County hospital that built a “green” tower and two other facilities that developed programs to dispose of pharmaceutical waste are among the winners of Maryland Hospitals for a Healthy Environment’s 2010 Trailblazer Awards.

The awards are presented annually to Maryland hospitals that have shown leadership in advancing sustainability in a particular area of their operations. The winners are strong models for other hospitals striving to advance sustainable health care by reducing their environmental footprint and raising the bar on achieving improved results.

Maryland Hospitals for a Healthy Environment (MD H2E) is a grant-funded technical assistance and networking initiative that promotes sustainability in Maryland health care. The Maryland Department of the Environment has supported MD H2E with grants for mercury and PVC audits at seven hospitals and recently partnered with the group to fund energy audits at the University of Maryland Medical Center and Levindale Hebrew Geriatric Center and Hospital.

MD H2E announced the 2010 Trailblazer Awards at the group’s annual Environmental Excellence in Health Care Conference Nov. 18 at the University of Maryland School of Nursing. The winners are:

Anne Arundel Medical Center

Anne Arundel Medical Center for designing and building an eight-story “green” tower that emphasizes the well-being of its patients, staff, community, and surrounding ecosystem. The green building will be the first acute care facility in Maryland to achieve the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Engineering and Environmental Design (LEED) silver certification. The tower will use significantly less energy and water, and fewer toxic products and building materials were used during construction than have been used in similar structures. During construction, 92.6 percent of waste materials were recycled.

Franklin Square Hospital Center for being the first Maryland hospital to develop and implement an Environmental Management System as a method for reducing environmental impacts. Also, as part of MedStar Health, Franklin Square began a hazardous pharmaceutical waste management program in 2007 that, as of this year, is fully operational system-wide. Finally, while designing and building their new Patient Care Tower and Emergency Department, Franklin Square Hospital Center implemented a multitude of LEED-compliant features. Franklin Square Hospital participated in MDE’s Environmental Management System Implementation Program in 2008-2009.

LifeBridge Health

LifeBridge Health acquired grant funding from BGE to replace fluorescent lights with LED lamps. Since implementing the program, LifeBridge Health staff members have served as mentors, providing assistance to staff at several other Maryland hospitals in an effort to duplicate their energy successes. LifeBridge is the only health system in the region that is composting at all of its facilities. They use the “final compost product” for landscaping needs at system facilities. Finally, LifeBridge Health has a system-wide regulated medical waste separation and reduction program that reduced red bag waste by more than 50 percent since 2002, including a fluid waste management system for operating rooms at Sinai Hospital.

University of Maryland Medical Center

University of Maryland Medical Center developed a hazardous pharmaceutical waste management program in January 2010 to uphold its mission to provide health care with minimum impact to human health and the environment. The policy, “The Safe Handling and Disposal of Hazardous Medications,” addresses both worker and environmental safety. Since the program’s inception, the Medical Center has collected 3,510 pounds of hazardous pharmaceutical waste for proper disposal. The policies, program, and educational materials are easily transferable to other hospitals across the state of Maryland.

An article from the Howard County Times examines the effectiveness of – and problems with – Howard County’s green building legislation, the first in the state. Howard County General Hospital’s new Medical Pavilion is highlighted, having recently been recognized for “Pioneering Sustainability.”

Howard County seeing green building construction trend

From the article, by Kellie Woodhouse:

The new Medical Pavilion, a 167,000-square-foot structure on the campus of Howard County General Hospital, has all the features of a green building – a rainwater drainage system, a white roof that reflects sunlight and more.

Last week, the Maryland chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council recognized the Columbia building for “Pioneering Sustainability in a Medical Facility” at an awards ceremony in Baltimore.

Two-and-a-half years after Howard County became the first jurisdiction in the state to mandate environmentally friendly features for large projects, green buildings like the Medical Pavilion are popping up in Columbia, North Laurel and Elkridge.

…

Stuart Kaplow, an attorney and chairman of the U.S. Green Building Council: Maryland Chapter, praised Howard County for its “forward-thinking” legislation.

He said that green building was becoming increasingly embraced by builders nationwide.

“In 2005, less than 2 percent of the nonresidential construction in this country was green. In 2010, it appears that number will exceed 25 percent,” Kaplow said. “It’s shocking. Real estate doesn’t move that quickly; it’s a slow moving industry.”

…

WHAT MAKES A GREEN BUILDING?

Medical Pavilion at Howard County, Columbia

* Plants fed by rainwater drainage from the roof

* White roof reflects heat

* Fuel-efficient cars receive priority parking

* Construction waste was recycled and construction materials came from distributors close to the project to decrease fuel for shipping

SAVE THE DATE: First Sustainability Share & Learn Session of 2011

The National Capital Region Sustainable Healthcare Alliance (NCRSHA) in collaboration with the District of Columbia Hospital Association’s Environmental Protection Committee invites you this Share & Learn Event on Thursday, February 24^th from 1:00-3:00PM at the DCHA. (DCHA’s NEW offices are at 1152 15th Street, NW, Suite 900,  Washington, DC).This event is FREE and open to all interested participants working with or in National Capital Region hospitals. Bring yourselves, your ideas and your experiences (good and bad) in building a sustainable healthcare organization and join the discussion. Mark your calendars!

Trying to tackle sustainability but don’t know how to get started? Starting a sustainability program can be challenging. Building the structure and vision within your organization to address sustainability is a vital first step to a successful program. Setting up a Green Team or tasking an existing committee with the same charge is often a key first step. This program will feature a panel of healthcare professionals who have taken a leadership role in creating Green Teams at their organizations. Learn how hospitals around the region have:

• Created functional and productive Green Teams;
• Have engaged their fellow employees to participate;
• Have gotten support from the C-Suite to move forward; and
• Have used the Green Team to develop sustainability goals and make progress!

Confirmed panelists include: Robert Jewell, Director of Environmental Services, Sibley Hospital, Seema Wadhwa, Sustainability Engineer, Inova Health System and Rachel DeMunda, Senior Director of Sustainability & Env Health & Safety.

Please don’t forget to RSVP to this email address if you can join us for this event.

SAVE THE DATE: First Sustainability Share & Learn Session of 2011

The National Capital Region Sustainable Healthcare Alliance (NCRSHA) in collaboration with the District of Columbia Hospital Association’s Environmental Protection Committee invites you this Share & Learn Event on Thursday, February 24^th from 1:00-3:00PM at the DCHA. (DCHA’s NEW offices are at 1152 15th Street, NW, Suite 900,  Washington, DC).This event is FREE and open to all interested participants working with or in National Capital Region hospitals. Bring yourselves, your ideas and your experiences (good and bad) in building a sustainable healthcare organization and join the discussion. Mark your calendars!

Trying to tackle sustainability but don’t know how to get started? Starting a sustainability program can be challenging. Building the structure and vision within your organization to address sustainability is a vital first step to a successful program. Setting up a Green Team or tasking an existing committee with the same charge is often a key first step. This program will feature a panel of healthcare professionals who have taken a leadership role in creating Green Teams at their organizations. Learn how hospitals around the region have:

• Created functional and productive Green Teams;
• Have engaged their fellow employees to participate;
• Have gotten support from the C-Suite to move forward; and
• Have used the Green Team to develop sustainability goals and make progress!

Confirmed panelists include: Robert Jewell, Director of Environmental Services, Sibley Hospital, Seema Wadhwa, Sustainability Engineer, Inova Health System and Rachel DeMunda, Senior Director of Sustainability & Env Health & Safety.

Please don’t forget to RSVP to this email address if you can join us for this event.