Practice Greenhealth Names Inova Health System Greening the OR® Video Contest Winner
“The Recycle Mash” promotes sustainability in the operating room
(Reston, Virginia) The winning submission in the Practice Greenhealth Greening the OR® Video Contest was announced at CleanMed, the leading conference for health care sustainability professionals. Inova Health System won the contest with “The Recycle Mash,” which received more than 1,800 views during the contest period.
“Inova Health System recognizes the efforts of our staff to safeguard public health and the environment,” said Knox Singleton, Chief Executive Officer. “We are honored to be recognized for our hard work and leadership—and we had a lot of fun making the video.”
To view the video visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UrcKZjNI2_Y&feature=colike.
Operating rooms are some of the most resource-intensive and largest waste-generating areas of a hospital. A recent study estimated supply costs of operating rooms could eat up as much as 56 percent of total operating room budgets, and produce between 20 to 30 percent of a hospital’s total waste volume. In addition, most operating room supplies are thrown out after just one use (or no use at all if they are part of a surgical kit), even though re-use may be an option.
Greening the OR® endorsers and sponsors were challenged to plan and produce their own Greening the OR® videos, showcasing their creativity and talent, while illustrating how to reduce costs and also reduce waste, energy use, and worker and patient exposure to hazardous chemicals. The videos captured successes in all areas of green ORs and were geared to:
- Promote sustainability in health care and hospital facilities
- Entertain and interest viewers –industry peers and customers
- Highlight the Greening the OR® program
“We were excited by the enthusiasm we saw in all of the entries,” said Laura Wenger, RN, Executive Director. “It was a hard decision, as each hospital brings a great deal of experience and expertise in reducing operating room impacts and costs to the table. Inova’s video stood out because of the level of creativity, community involvement and number of strategies highlighted, as well as the number of views it received.”
“The Recycle Mash” was showcased May 1, 2012 in Denver, CO, at CleanMed, the premier national environmental conference for leaders in health care sustainability. At the event, Inova Health System also achieved System for Change; Inova Alexandria Hospital, Inova Fair Oaks Hospital, Inova Loudoun Hospital and Inova Mount Vernon Hospital achieved Partner for Change with Distinction, and Inova Fairfax Hospital achieved Partner for Change.