FEATURE
tices. Going green is quickly becoming a business imperative,” she says.
Get Organized For ASCs starting to look at reduc- ing their environmental impact, it is important to gain leadership support, advises Joyce Mackler, RN, CASC, administrator of Seaford Endoscopy Center in Seaford, Delaware. “As long as what you are doing is not costing a lot of money, compromis- ing patient safety or infection control or creating a significant staff burden as far as time commitment, leaders will often embrace changes,” she says. Once management supports reducing
Environmental Stewardship in ASCs
Leaner, more efficient practices result in financial savings, improved employee recruitment and retention BY ROBERT KURTZ
A
n ASC can have a positive impact on its community both inside
and outside the facility, environmental experts say. “It is important for health care pro-
viders like ASCs to practice what they preach in terms of embracing the con- nection
between environmental and
human health, to promote health and wellness for the people in their commu- nity by doing what they can to support a cleaner environment,” says Kaeleigh Sheehan, member engagement man- ager for Practice Greenhealth, a Reston, Virginia-based nonprofit member orga- nization that provides environmental solutions for the health care sector. Fortunately, it is becoming easier to
make environmentally friendly deci- sions. Not only are the ways to “go green” increasing, the benefits of doing so also are growing, Sheehan says.
20 ASC FOCUS JUNE/JULY 2016 “Many of our staff have strong,
environmentally friendly personal practices,” says Kathleen Allman, RN, CASC, chief executive officer at Mil- lennium Surgery Center in Bakersfield, California. “We support their passion.” ASCs that integrate environmental
stewardship into daily operations expe- rience improved employee recruitment and retention, Sheehan notes. “This is particularly true with attracting and keeping millenials. Many grew up with recycling in their homes and sustain- ability programs at their colleges, and expect to do so in their workplaces.” In
the past, responsible business
practices were frequently seen as an expense, but
that has changed over
time, Sheehan says. “There are enor- mous financial savings opportunities for ASCs that look at leaner, more efficient, more environmentally friendly prac-
an ASC’s environmental footprint, Shee- han advises identifying a point person or a few people to determine what opportu- nities exist for the facility. Those can be influenced by state and local regulations and vendor availability. “This individual will be respon-
sible for overseeing efforts and pull- ing together a team to make educated decisions,” she says. “For example, you want to make sure that if you change the size of a waste receptacle in an operat- ing room, it is not going to cause any problems for the surgical team, house- keeping or infection control. You need to include the right people to look at ini- tiatives from different perspectives.”
Start Small To build momentum for making envi- ronmentally friendly changes, Shee- han suggests ASCs identify “easy, low- hanging opportunities.” “ASCs usually have pretty standard operating business hours; they can use that to their advantage,” she says. “This can include cutting back the heating, ventilation and air-conditioning system overnight. Most operating rooms can safely be set back from the required minimum of 20 air exchanges per hour when in use down to six air exchanges per hour when unoccupied. That saves
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