HSHS St. Anthony’s Memorial Hospital was named Practice Greenhealth’s “Partner for Change.” The award is given to hospitals who take significant efforts to reduce waste and raise efficiency. St. Anthony’s was recognized last week during an award ceremony in Dallas, TX. Effingham Radio News spoke to Dennis Baker, Director of Facilities at St. Anthony’s Hospital, about Practice Greenhealth.
To be recognized for the award, St. Anthony’s Hospital had to meet certain requirements involving sustainable practice. According to Baker, the process began back in 2009 when the hospital joined Practice Greenhealth. Since then, there has been a continuous effort go green. Baker explained some of the requirements that St. Anthony’s had to meet for the award.
According to Baker, St. Anthony’s recycles about 38 percent of their waste which amounts to about 300,000 pounds of garbage that won’t clog up a landfill. He suggested that often it’s simply a matter of training staff on what can be recycled and can’t.
In addition to being better for the environment, Baker told us that going green also saves the hospital money that could contribute to reduced costs for patients in the future.
Baker said that St. Anthony’s will “continue to strive to find new ways to recycle products.” The process of going green is ongoing.