Practice Greenhealth reports on how we can green the OR.
The OR can be a pretty wasteful place, and we’re not just talking about physical trash. While crucial to patient care, the surgical department for many health care facilities can be a huge source of energy consumption, waste generation, and supply expenses, not to mention greenhouse gas emissions.
Since 2010, Practice Greenhealth’s Greening the OR Initiative has urged health care institutions to consider sustainability programs in the hospital’s most environmentally impactful department. Health care facilities are saving more than $20,100 per operating room each year by implementing just a few of these programs. A hospital with 15 ORs focusing on seven of the Greening the OR strategies could save $311,000 annually.