Virginia Mason Receives Top Honors for ‘Green’ Health Care

Virginia Mason has received the most prestigious environmental achievement award offered by Practice Greenhealth.

During a ceremony in Portland, Ore. yesterday, Virginia Mason was presented a Top 25 Environmental Excellence Award that recognizes the health system for setting high standards for environmental practices in health care.

Award winners were chosen from hospitals that have the highest scores for the Greenhealth Emerald Award using Practice Greenhealth’s scoring and evaluation system. Practice GreenHealth is a leading health care community that empowers its members to increase their environmental safeguards while improving patient safety and care.

“Virginia Mason is one of the greenest hospitals in the nation,” said Brenna Davis, director, Sustainability. “This achievement is a testament to the tireless efforts by everyone at our organization to protect the natural environment for current and future generations.”

Through its EnviroMason environmental stewardship initiative Virginia Mason diverted more than 3,400 tons of waste from landfills between 2009 and 2013. It recycles more than 50 percent of its waste overall, compared to the health care industry average of 20 percent. With its energy conservation programs, Virginia Mason avoided using 7.3 million gallons of water and 3.4 million kilowatt hours of electricity from 2012 through 2014. Those energy savings equate to estimated cost savings of $439,664 in water and $607,498 for electricity during the three-year period.

Also, Virginia Mason recently joined nine other leading health care institutions in launching the 2020 Health Care Climate Challenge a global campaign to mobilize hospitals and health systems to do even more to protect the environment.