Photo By Maria Christina Yager | Blanchfield Army Community Hospital Department of Public Health Chief Capt. Arron...... read more read more
Blanchfield Army Community Hospital was recently recognized for its commitment to reducing its environmental footprint in the global movement for environmental health.
The hospital received the 2023 Partners for Change Award and 2023 Greening the OR Recognition Award as part of The Practice Green Health Environmental Excellence Awards Program coordinated through the Defense Health Agency and U.S. Army Medical Command.
Going “green” refers to choosing practices that support environmental conservation.
“This is a cause we have taken the championship of to really prove that we’re doing what we can to make our carbon footprint and environmental impact as small as possible,” said Capt. Arron Smith, chief of BACH’s Department of Public Health, and the hospital’s Practice Greenhealth submission coordinator.
Smith tracks and complies annual data for sustainability progress and compliance throughout the hospital and outlying clinics on Fort Campbell and the community-based Screaming Eagle Medical Home located off post in Clarksville, Tennessee. Focus areas include six main measures with subcategories for sustainable buildings, energy reduction, renewable energy, water efficiency, hazardous waste minimization, environmentally preferred purchasing, greenhouse gas emission reduction, and sustainability training to help foster a cultural change.
“The beauty of the Greenhealth Award is that it is not just the work of a single department. It is actually all of BACH, culminating from multiple sections of the hospital and their individual actions to the process and program to reduce our waste and our impact on the environment,” added Smith.
In the medical logistics arena, new contracts, including those for construction, must meet specific guidance for energy and water efficiency and environmentally preferable requirements.
The hospital’s equipment management branch supports “Go Green” initiatives by purchasing energy-efficient appliances, recycled paper that contains at least 50% post-consumer content for a sustainable choice and purchasing environmentally preferred products like bio-based cleaners and supplies.
Wanda Brookhyser, supervisory equipment specialist and medical maintenance program manager at BACH served a career in the Air Force before joining federal service at BACH and said that she has seen a lot of change.
“Now, 60% of our office supply orders are made from post-consumer recycled materials. As compared to 20 years ago, medical devices are on average 50% more energy efficient,” said Brookhyser. “We have approx. 7,700 medical devices in use throughout the hospital and satellite clinics, so there is a significant cost-savings in overall energy consumption across the MTF footprint.”
As a whole, recycling initiatives practiced by BACH staff, including recycling batteries, cardboard, cooking oil, and paper has diverted approximately 192 tons of waste from the landfill, reflecting a disposal cost savings of over $75,000.
For many hospital staff, environmental sustainability is just as important off duty, too.
“I recycle and anything I can reuse I do reuse, like water bottles and plastic utensils,” said Staff Sgt. Virginia Vinson, a behavioral health specialist at BACH.
Hospital Commander Col. Vincent B. Myers said it is important that staff and clinicians practice environmental sustainability best practices.
“We’re not just focused on patient care, but also the environment. Our staff is continuously striving to improve and expand upon these programs on the path to sustainability,” said Myers.
| Date Taken: | 07.24.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 07.24.2023 10:27 |
| Story ID: | 449845 |
| Location: | FORT CAMPBELL, KY, US |
| Web Views: | 105 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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Fort Campbell
Health Facilities Management
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