Data Collection: The Essential Underpinning of Environmental ImprovementHospital staff are often (more like always) overburdened with multiple responsibilities, underfunded mandates, not enough time in the day to get to everything on the ToDo list… So adding data collection and tracking to an already overcrowded schedule can seem laughably out of reach. When facility staff take the time to collect and analyze data, however, it gives them the power to effectively identify, prioritize and achieve waste and cost reductions, as well as supporting other environmental goals. H2E award winners consistently credit data collection with showing them where they needed to focus attention, and allowing them to measure and report the amazing results of their targeted initiatives. This month’s success story focuses on such a data-driven environmental improvement story – from a facility that has just started out on this journey. We hope it will inspire you to take the first steps toward making a data collection and tracking effort, no matter how minimal, part of your environmental improvement efforts. What “isn’t measured isn’t managed”, and you can’t demonstrate the value of your work without a realistic, data-driven assessment of its impact on the environmental and financial bottom line. - Laura Brannen, ED |
In This IssueH2E Environmental Excellence Summit |
H2E Environmental Excellence Summit
The H2E Environmental Excellence Summit schedule is coming together quickly! See below for an overview of the many exciting elements of our program, and visit our Registration Pages to join us for the event!
Early Registration has been extended to Tuesday, April 10th! Register early to save $75! The Summit takes place May 14-15 in Minneapolis, MN. The current schedule of events is highlighted here:
Monday, May 14, 2007
| 10:00 a.m. | Registration Opens |
| 12:00-1:30 p.m. | Brown Bag Learning Sessions (lunches available for purchase)
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| 2:00 p.m. | Awards Ceremony Introductions |
| 2:15 p.m. | Clancy the Mercury Dog |
| 2:30-3:45 p.m. | Awards Presentation |
| 3:45-4:15 p.m. | Tea and Refreshments |
| 4:15-5:30 p.m. | Award Winner Case Study Presentations |
| 6:00-7:00 p.m. | Cocktail Reception |
Dinner on your own
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
| 8:00-9:00 a.m. | Keynote Breakfast Come hear John Peterson “Pete” Myers, co-author of Our Stolen Future discuss emerging science on low level chemical exposures, endocrine disruption and efforts to reduce the effects of synthetic chemical contamination on public health and the environment. Dr. Myers is CEO/Chief Scientist of Environmental Health Sciences, publisher of EnvironmentalHealthNews.org, Board Chair of the National Environmental Trust and a Senior Fellow at Commonweal (Bolinas, CA). From 1990-2002 he was director of the W. Alton Jones Foundation, a private foundation supporting efforts to protect the global environment and to prevent nuclear war. He received his Ph.D. in zoology from the University of California, Berkeley. |
| 9:15 a.m.-3:15 p.m. | Pharmaceutical Management Workshop |
| 9:15 a.m. | Introduction Laura Brannen, Executive Director, H2E |
| 9:30-10:15 a.m. | Overview – Pharmaceutical Waste Issues and Approaches Charlotte Smith, President, PharmEcology |
| 10:15-10:45 a.m. | Hazardous Waste Identification Practice Session |
| 11:15 a.m.-12:00 p.m. | Case Study: Abbott Northwestern Steven Waderich, Safety Manager |
| 12:00-1:00 p.m. | Lunch |
| 1:00-1:45 p.m. | Case Study: Franklin Square Hospital Center Jerry Adams, Envronmental Health and Safety Officer |
| 1:45-2:00 p.m. | Break |
| 2:00-2:45 p.m. | Case Study: Minnesota Pharmaceutical P2 Source Reduction Project Catherine Zimmer, Healthcare Specialist, MN TAP |
| 2:45-3:15 p.m. | Wrap-up: Where do we go from here? Cecilia DeLoach, H2E Partner Program Manager |
Schedule subject to change, please check back for updates!
Success Story - Data Collection
Fairfield Medical Center Data Collection
The first victory came in a meeting with Fairfield’s medical waste hauler. Where invoices had always just gone directly to the accounting department for payment, the data was now being reviewed closely and entered into the data tool. Detailed data tracking allowed FMC to look at all the extra charges like fuel surcharges, charges for supplies, etc. and to see that they were inflating the agreed upon price per pound by 7 cents – which drastically increased annual waste costs! During a meeting with the vendor, the data tool was introduced into the conversation. “It was clear that our facts were in line and that we were taking a very serious look at things,” said Pam Starlin of FMC’s Environmental Services and Patient Transport. As a result, the vendor came back with a new contracted price that will equate to a savings of about $10,000 annually. (Money that can help improve waste programs in other ways!)
The second major advance was understanding the cost avoidance benefits of the cardboard recycling program. FMC had been recycling cardboard because they felt it was environmentally appropriate – and the small rebate just about covered the cost of the program. But when the tool identified the avoided waste costs related to recycling, they realized that the cardboard program actually had a net benefit of nearly $8,000 in one year! FMC was also able to obtain additional rebates, with a clearer grasp of actual volumes shipped. FMC plans to use avoided cost figures to justify expanding recycling programs across the board – by showing that even when there are upfront costs to recycling, the comparison with avoided landfill costs may vastly reduce or cancel those costs out. “Avoided cost figures could help anyone justify initiating, or expanding on, a comprehensive recycling program,” suggests Pam Starlin.
FMC’s waste data analysis has produced a clear picture of trends, and has enabled staff to identify and prioritize opportunities to reduce waste and increase recycling. Program managers are able to use this data in presentations about the waste reduction initiatives to staff, C-level executives and FMC’s board. It also allows FMC to measure facility programs and progress against the benchmarks set by peak performers, who have hugely reduced their RMW and solid waste figures through better segregation, comprehensive recycling and environmental purchasing for source reduction.
For the first time, FMC can get a clear picture of their facilities’ total waste stream, identify their true costs, uncover new recycling and reuse opportunities, set specific goals and track progress – a major advance!
Fairfield Medical Center, Lancaster, OH
- H2E Partner since: January 10, 2005
- H2E Awards: Partner for Change Award 2005, Making Medicine Mercury Free Award 2006
- Contact: Pamela S. Starlin, Manager, Environmental Service and Patient Transport
- Phone: 740-687-8075
April Teleconferences
All H2E teleconferences take place at 1 PM Eastern Time. Access to all teleconferences is included in a $199 annual subscription to H2E. Subscribe now!
April 5: Green Building Series: Connecting Hospitals to Nature – available soon on mp3
April 13: Next Generation Energy Procurement
April 20: Introduction to H2E and Data Collection (sponsored by Biosystems, Inc.)
Data Collection Tips and Resources
Tips
- Control the Process: Have all waste bills flow through one individual for review prior to sending to accounts payable.
- Watch that Weight! Ask your hauler(s) for compactor weights at each pull and see if there is an opportunity to eliminate a pull.
- Standardize vendors – When your data is gathered and your overall waste handling needs assessed, analyze system- or facility-wide storage and pickup needs, review all your existing departmental contracts, and bid out a central contract to improve pricing and standardize operations.
Essential Resources:
- To analyze and assess your waste program effectively, you need to measure material in same units for better comparison. This EPA site has useful conversion rates to work with.
H2E - Hospitals for a Healthy Environment
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