Did you know that ORs are one of the most resource-intensive areas in a hospital? According to Practice Greenhealth,
- As much as 56 percent of operating room budgets are for supplies. (Operating salaries account for about 35 percent of OR budgets.)
- ORs generate about 20 to 30 percent of hospitals’ total waste.
- Much of the waste thrown out by ORs is disposed of as regulated medical waste even though a substantial portion of the material can be handled in non-regulated waste streams.
- Disposal of regulated medical waste costs 10 to 15 times more than regular waste. Most operating room supplies are thrown out after one use even though reuse may be an option.
Now, hospitals are addressing the consumption. Launched six months ago, the Greening the OR Initiative has been adopted by more than 55 hospitals and healthcare facilities in the United States. The Greening the OR Initiative is a year-long collaborative project to develop best practices for incorporating sustainability principles in hospital operating rooms. The green OR effort is aimed at cutting waste in operating rooms.
The shortlist of “green interventions” for operating rooms includes:
- Single-Use Device (SUD) Reprocessing
- Switching to reusable rather than disposable gowns, surgical drapes, basins and other reusable supplies and equipment (we personally would like to see bamboo gowns and drapes)
- OR kit formulation
- Waste anesthetic gas scavenging systems
- Fluid waste management systems
- Better management of energy use for lighting and thermal comfort
- Regulated Medical Waste (RMW) minimization/segregation
- Substitution of reusable hard cases for blue sterile wrap
- Recycling of medical plastics
- Laser safety and smoke evacuation
- Green cleaning and disinfection in surgical setting
- Donation of medical equipment and supplies
These interventions should reduce the environmental impact of the OR, reduce cost, increase efficiency, and improve worker and patient safety. Since this initiative is brand new, these are the initial focuses. The initiative would like to expand beyond this at some point.
Hospitals and medical centers from New York to California have signed on, including more than 40 in the Catholic Healthcare West systems in Arizona, California and Nevada. In addition to the Catholic Healthcare West facilities, participants in the green OR collaborative include:
- The Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio
- Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, Lebanon, N.H.
- Fairview Health Services, Minneapolis, Minn.
- Frankfort Regional Medical Center, Frankfort, Ky.
- Frank R Howard Memorial Hospital, Willits, Calif.
- Iowa Health System, Des Moines, Iowa
- Lee’s Summit Medical Center, Lee’s Summit, Mo.
- Magee-Women’s Hospital of UPMC, Pittsburgh, Pa.
- MetroWest Medical Center, Natick, Mass.
- NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center, New York, N.Y.
- NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, New York, N.Y.
- Providence Health & Services – Portland Service Area, Portland, Ore.
- Sacred Heart Hospital, Eau Claire, Wis.
- Spectrum Butterworth Hospital, Grand Rapids, Mich.
- St. John Hospital & Medical Center, Detroit, Mich.
- University of Maryland Medical Center, Baltimore, Md.
- VA Medical Center, Memphis, Tenn.
It definitely makes sense to focus on hospital departments with the highest costs and greatest inefficiencies. The best part is that these changes should save these hospitals potentially millions of dollars. I truly hope that more hospitals sign onto these green initiatives. More “green” for the hospital should translate into lower medical costs for us all!
Make sure to visit Green Earth News’ Green Is Grand section for more on eco-friendly initiatives!
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Green Hospitals are warm welcome to the patients who wants to save their money.It reduces Hospital Bills. Thank You.
Very great nad excellent news such “Greening The OR Initiative: Hospitals Taking Steps To Reduce Waste!”
Did you know that ORs are one of the most resource-intensive areas in a hospital? According to Practice Greenhealth,
* As much as 56 percent of operating room budgets are for supplies. (Operating salaries account for about 35 percent of OR budgets.)
* ORs generate about 20 to 30 percent of hospitals’ total waste.
* Much of the waste thrown out by ORs is disposed of as regulated medical waste even though a substantial portion of the material can be handled in non-regulated waste streams.
* Disposal of regulated medical waste costs 10 to 15 times more than regular waste. Most operating room supplies are thrown out after one use even though reuse may be an option.
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