In response to President’s Obama’s announcement yesterday at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., where he called for a national plan to lead the global effort towards a healthier, low carbon development pathway, Healthier Hospitals Initiative (HHI) asked for healthcare organizations to take President Obama’s challenge to heart and enroll in HHI to be “part of the sustainability movement to change the future of our country’s health care system.”
HHI leaders, stakeholders and enrollees represent a community committed to embedding sustainability into health care’s core operating strategy—a national campaign to improve health of patients, staff, and the community; reduce environmental impact by the sector; and maximize financial savings that reduce the overall national health care costs through better public health. There are 800 hospitals enrolled in HHI to date.
The President reinforced that no one effort will make the difference. We know that if each of us contributes collectively, we can change the future.
Collectively, HHI enrollees as described in its 2012 Milestone Report were able to achieve the following:
- More than 50 million pounds of materials recycled, plus an additional 61.5 million pounds of construction and demolition waste kept out of landfills through reuse and recycling.
- About $32 million in savings resulting from single-use medical device reprocessing.
- Leading hospital systems working toward 25% energy reduction by 2020, implementing energy efficiency and buying renewable energy for their institutions
In light of President Obama’s statement that “We all have a stake in solving it together,” HHI believes where healthcare represents 18% of the entire economy, it has a mission-related imperative to become champions for solutions for the society at large.
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