Two Affinity Health System hospitals recognized by Practice Greenhealth for environmental programs through Partnership Award
St. Elizabeth Hospital and Mercy Medical Center join national honor roll of health care facilities committed to environment
04 / 21 / 2011
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Maria Nelson, Media Relations
Affinity Health System
(920) 720-1752
(920) 554-0686 (pager)
MENASHA, Wis. – St. Elizabeth Hospital in Appleton and Mercy Medical Center in Oshkosh have been honored with a Partner Recognition award by Practice Greenhealth, a national membership organization for health care facilities committed to environmentally responsible operations. The award is one of Practice Greenhealth’s environmental excellence awards given each year to honor outstanding environmental achievements in the health care sector.
Highlights of environmental performance during FY 2010 from these two facilities include receiving the EPA’s Energy Star label, elimination styrofoam from cafeterias, utilizing reusable isolation gowns instead of disposable, and the implementation of an environmental management system based on ISO 14001 to move beyond environmental compliance and further reduce environmental waste.
"Improving environmental performance is essential for the health care sector," said Gary Kusnierz, vice president of performance excellence. "For Affinity, green practices are especially important because they align closely with our mission, as we are committed to being stewards of all of our resources."
The criteria for the award not only measure reduction of annual solid waste, regulated medical waste, hazardous waste and recycling rates (greater than 5 percent of total waste stream), but also look at ongoing sustainability efforts such as energy efficiency.
About Practice Greenhealth
Practice Greenhealth is the nation’s leading membership and networking organization for institutions in the health care community that have made a commitment to sustainable, eco-friendly practices. Members include hospitals, healthcare systems, businesses and other stakeholders engaged in the greening of health care to improve the health of patients, staff and the environment. Practice Greenhealth is a source of environmental solutions for the health care sector. For more information on Practice Greenhealth, visit www.practicegreenhealth.org.
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For the Editor:
Affinity Health System, a faith-based regional health care network, is the Fox Valley’s second-largest employer, according to the Fox Cities Chamber of Commerce & Industry. For the fourth consecutive year, Affinity has been named one of the nation’s top 64 health systems based on clinical performance according to Thomson Reuters, a leading provider of information and solutions to improve the cost and quality of health care. For ten consecutive years, Affinity Health System has been named to the SDI (formerly Verispan) Integrated Health Network Top 100, an annual assessment of the 100 most highly integrated health care networks in the nation. Both St. Elizabeth Hospital in Appleton and Mercy Medical Center in Oshkosh rank among the top 1 percent of hospitals nationwide in terms of quality and efficiency, as determined by the 2007 Premier | CareScience Select practice National Quality Award. Network Health Plan has achieved Excellent accreditation status from the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA), the highest possible level. It has been nationally ranked in the Top 50 Health Insurance Plans for five consecutive years in the U.S. News and World Report/NCQA Best Health Plans in America listing. Members of Affinity include Mercy Medical Center and Mercy Health Foundation, Oshkosh; St. Elizabeth Hospital and the St. Elizabeth Hospital Foundation, Appleton; Affinity Medical Group, a regional network of 26 family practice and specialty clinics – 23 of which are recognized as NCQA Level III medical homes, the highest level of recognition – in 14 communities; Calumet Medical Center, Chilton; Network Health Plan, Menasha; and Affinity Occupational Health.