Brentwood, TN – July 27, 2012 – J. Michael Jones, FACHE, director of Clinical Education and Sustainability for HealthTrust Purchasing Group, was invited by the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) to participate in a July 24 White House discussion, “Greening America’s Hospitals.”
The CEQ facilitated discussions among leaders in health care and policy, highlighting the Healthier Hospitals Initiative’s successful efforts to reduce the environmental footprint of hospitals, lower costs and improve patient health by incorporating sustainability initiatives into their business models. (https://healthierhospitals.org)
The half-day event featured two panel discussions, “Fostering a Culture of Environmental Sustainability” and “Healthier Hospitals Initiative: Transforming the Supply Chain,” that addressed the impact these efforts have on hospital purchasing decisions, the health-care supply chain and on health care as a business.
Those participating and offering their perspectives included senior Obama administration officials, sustainability policy experts, hospital administrators, and health-care supply chain professionals. Jones was one of a select group of health-care sustainability experts invited to participate in the session, representing The Practice Greenhealth GPO Work Group, which is a collaboration of national health-care group purchasing organizations working toward consistent Environmentally Preferable Purchasing standards.
The results of the “Greening America’s Hospitals” discussion will be considered by the White House Council on Environmental Quality in guiding related policy decisions going forward.
One of the forerunners of HealthTrust’s formal Sustainability program is its longstanding commitment to the advancement of reprocessing/remanufacturing of medical devices-reducing both the environmental and economic impact on our member facilities. Today, the program touches on many dimensions of environmental responsibility including facilities management, environmental purchasing, waste management, clean energy, chemicals management and more.
HealthTrust is a full member of Practice Greenhealth, the leading advocacy group in the health-care sustainability arena, and participates in initiatives led by Health Care Without Harm and other environmental-interest groups. HealthTrust has been a member of Practice Greenhealth since 2008 and has won their “Champion for Change” award multiple times.
Jones adds that, “HealthTrust recognizes the importance of providing its members with vendor solutions for environmentally preferred purchasing (EPP) products and services. We’re proud to be contracting for products and services that are better for both the environment and public health as our member facilities increasingly ask for eco-friendly, non-toxic options.”
Follow the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) on Twitter @WhiteHouseCEQ or their blog at www.whitehouse.gov.
