HMHP Nets Fourth Consecutive Creeley Award
Youngstown, Ohio (PRWEB) April 22, 2014 -- Outstanding strides toward environmental sustainability netted Humility of Mary Health Partners the prestigious Melvin Creeley Environmental Leadership Award for the fourth consecutive year. The Ohio Hospital Association announced the winners this morning in honor of Earth Day.
The Melvin Creeley Award honors hospitals that promote sound environmental practices through environmental stewardship and exemplify best practices for other hospitals to emulate.
Humility of Mary Health Partners is one of 12 organizations throughout Ohio that will receive the award this year, and one of only four to be considered for the John Chapman Award. The John Chapman or “Johnny Appleseed” Award recognizes a hospital or health system for demonstrating excellence in initiating or supporting pollution prevention programs. The awards will be presented at the Ohio Hospital Association’s recognition dinner June 10.
“We’re not being recognized for a specific project, but rather our continuing efforts to reduce our impact on the Earth and achieve environmental sustainability,” reports Matthew R. Waggle, HMHP regional director of environmental services. “We are very deliberate in all of our new construction to make sure we are diverting construction waste so it is not buried in a landfill, and in choosing sustainable building materials. And, we work continuously to recycle materials generated by hospital operations and to reduce the resources we consume.”
During construction of the new tower at St. Elizabeth Boardman Health Center, Waggle notes, “an astonishing 80% of construction waste has been recycled.” This includes materials such as concrete block, wood, gypsum, asphalt, steel, plastic, shingles, masonry, cardboard, brick, paper and fabric.
Last year, HMHP also began recycling the blue wrap that keeps surgical instruments sterile. The plastic fabric is collected and packaged into 125-pound bales that are eventually used to make consumer products that range from toothbrushes and combs to outdoor furniture. HMHP produces about two bales of blue wrap each week and recycled10,800 pounds of the material in 2013.
Other advances toward environmental sustainability achieved in 2013, Waggle continues, include changing out antiquated equipment to improve energy efficiency and conservation. As examples, Waggle cites the replacement of old CFL lighting fixtures with LED fixtures in the main lobbies, exterior canopies and parking lots, installation of occupancy sensors to control lighting in unoccupied rooms, replacement of dishwashers with new, energy-efficient, water-conserving models, and upgrades to the heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems.
Humility of Mary Health Partners continues to expand its recycling efforts both in-house and by introducing programs, such as confidential paper collection and shredding events that are open to the community.
Last year, HMHP recycled 259,000 pounds of cardboard, 1.1 million pounds of confidential paper and 116,400 pounds of mixed materials, which consists of plastic, glass and aluminum beverage containers, newspapers and other material. This is in addition to the 10,000 pounds of plastic that are diverted from landfills every month as the result of the organization using reusable sharps containers – containers used to dispose of used needles.
The award is named after Melvin Creeley, retired president and CEO of East Liverpool City Hospital who served as chairman of the Ohio Hospital Association’s Environmental Leadership Council from its inception in 2001 to 2010.
About Humility of Mary Health Partners:
Humility of Mary Health Partners is an integrated health system located in the Youngstown/Warren area. It is a region of Catholic Health Partners (CHP) in Cincinnati, the largest health system in Ohio and one of the largest Catholic health systems in the United States. HMHP provides a full spectrum of health care services, including inpatient, outpatient, emergency, urgent care, home care and long-term care. Members are St. Elizabeth Health Center, St. Joseph Health Center, St. Elizabeth Boardman Health Center, HM Home Health Services, The Assumption Village, Humility House, Hospice of the Valley and Laurel Lake. Learn more about HMHP online at http://www.HMpartners.org.
Maraline Kubik, Humility of Mary Health Partners, http://HMpartners.org, +1 (330) 480-2258, [email protected]
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