Public Health

Kaiser Permanente Irvine (Calif.) Medical Center. The Kaiser Permanente system’s Environmental Stewardship program has lofty environmental goals, aiming, among other things, to become carbon net positive; recycle, reuse or compost 100 percent of its non-hazardous waste; and reduce water use 25…

Johns Hopkins Hospital (Baltimore). Johns Hopkins Hospital became a member of Practice Greenhealth in 2014 and has won the Greenhealth Emerald Award from Practice Greenhealth for three consecutive years, most recently in 2016. In 2015, the hospital’s green accomplishments include…

James E. Van Zandt VA Medical Center (Altoona, Pa.). For the third consecutive year, the James Van Zandt VA Medical Center received one of Practice Greenhealth’s Top 25 Environmental Excellence Awards in 2016. Also this year, the Altoona VA hospital…

Iowa Methodist Medical Center (Des Moines). Iowa Methodist Medical Center, part of UnityPoint Health, is committed to reducing operating room waste, and created a partnership with Iowa Prison Industries in October 2015 to do so. Through the partnership, hospital nurses…

Inova Fairfax Hospital (Falls Church, Va.). The Inova system is a founding sponsor of the Healthier Hospitals Initiative, and Inova Fairfax is committed to all six HHI Challenges. Inova Fairfax was also one of five Inova hospitals to receive the…

Harborview Medical Center (Seattle). For the fifth consecutive year, Harborview Medical Center received the Top 25 Environmental Excellence Award from Practice Greenhealth in 2016. Additionally, the hospital received four Circles of Excellence Awards this year for sustainability efforts in climate,…

Hackensack (N.J.) University Medical Center. HackensackUMC boasts The Deirdre Imus Environmental Health Center, one of the first hospital-based programs with a specific mission to identify, control and prevent toxic exposure in the environment that could threaten children’s health. Last year,…

Gundersen Health System (La Crosse, Wis.). In 2008, Gundersen Health set a goal to control rising energy costs and improve health, and it reached a major milestone in 2014 when it became the first health system in the nation to…

Erie (Pa.) VA Medical Center. This 60-bed facility with more than 700 employees has a history of dedication to efficiency and sustainability. For instance, in 2015, Erie VAMC earned a Greenhealth Emerald Award from Practice Greenhealth. This year, the hospital…

Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center (Lebanon, N.H.). Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center has a history of sustainability efforts — for example, it has had dedicated waste managers since 1991. But its green efforts don’t stop at waste reduction — it also has sound chemical…