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Dignity Health Hospitals Receive National Awards for Achievements in Sustainability

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – May 9, 2018 – Dignity Health, one of the nation’s largest health systems, today announced several of its hospitals have received industry honors for their achievements in sustainability from Practice Greenhealth, the nation’s leading organization dedicated to environmental sustainability in health care.

The Practice Greenhealth Environmental Excellence 2018 Awards were presented at the CleanMed conference—an annual gathering aimed at accelerating the health care sector’s commitment to environmental sustainability and regenerative health—in San Diego earlier this month. Fourteen Dignity Health hospitals across California received 17 total awards recognizing achievements in several areas including purchasing, chemicals, food, waste, energy, water usage, and climate change. Dignity Health’s organization-wide strides in sustainability include a 34 percent waste diversion rate as well as a 19 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions since 2010.

“At Dignity Health, we understand that the well-being of society is dependent on the health of our planet. It is therefore imperative to enact sustainability measures throughout our system, as our actions can either harm or benefit the safety and well-being of the patients in our care,” said Sister Mary Ellen Leciejewski, OP, vice president of corporate responsibility for Dignity Health. “Receiving the Practice Greenhealth Environmental Excellence Awards is a tremendous honor for Dignity Health, and an acknowledgment of how our hospitals are embracing sustainability in their culture and operations—it’s always a team effort.”  

Awards received by Dignity Health are as follows:

  • The Partner for Change award was presented to Dominican Hospital, French Hospital Medical Center, Marian Regional Medical Center, Mercy General, Northridge Hospital Medical Center, Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital, St. Bernardine Medical Center, St. John’s Pleasant Valley Hospital, and St. John’s Regional Medical Center. The award recognizes health care facilities that continuously improve and expand programs to eliminate mercury, reduce and recycle waste, source products sustainably, and more. Winning facilities must demonstrate that they are recycling at least 15 percent of their total waste, reducing regulated medical waste, working toward eliminating mercury, and successfully developing sustainability programs in multiple areas.
  • The Partner Recognition award was presented to Woodland Memorial Hospital, Methodist Hospital of Sacramento, and Mercy Medical Center Redding. The award recognizes work on environmental improvements with progress in multiple areas, including achieving a recycling rate of at least 10 percent for their total waste stream.
  • The Greenhealth Emerald award was presented to California Hospital Medical Center for its implementation of a strong sustainability program and its cross-functional excellence.
  • The Circle of Excellence award was also presented to California Hospital Medical Center for its outstanding performance in environmentally preferable purchasing (EPP).
  • The Greening in the OR award was presented to California Hospital Medical Center and Arroyo Grande Community Hospital for their substantial progress in reducing the environmental impact of the surgical environment.

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About Dignity Health
Dignity Health is one of the nation's largest health care systems. As of June 30, 2017, Dignity Health operated more than 400 care centers, including hospitals, urgent and occupational care, imaging and surgery centers, home health, and primary care clinics in 22 states, through its network of more than 9,000 physicians and 63,000 employees. Headquartered in San Francisco, CA, Dignity Health is dedicated to providing compassionate, high-quality, and affordable patient-centered care with special attention to the poor and underserved. In its fiscal year ended June 30, 2017, Dignity Health provided $2.6 billion in charitable care and services. More information on Dignity Health is available at www.dignityhealth.org.

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Contact:
Dee Mostofi
Senior Director, Public Relations & Executive Communications
Dignity Health
[email protected]