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In Brief: September 2016

09/06/2016
Published in Dome - September 2016

Two Johns Hopkins Hospitals Win Environmental Awards

The Johns Hopkins Hospital and Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center recently won environmental excellence awards from Practice Greenhealth, a national association for health care organizations dedicated to environmental sustainability principles and practices.

The 2016 awards were presented in May at the annual CleanMed conference in Dallas. The Johns Hopkins hospitals received the following honors:

  • The Making Medicine Mercury-Free Award (The Johns Hopkins Hospital and Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center) recognizes facilities that have virtually eliminated mercury from their buildings and have made a commitment to continue to be “mercury-free.”
  • The Greenhealth Partner for Change Award (Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center) recognizes superior performance in environmental sustainability.
  • The Circle of Excellence Award for Greening the OR (The Johns Hopkins Hospital) acknowledges leadership in implementation and innovation in the surgical department. Among the practices evaluated: regulated medical waste segregation, clinical plastic recycling, reformulation of OR kits, single-use device reprocessing and use of reusable sterilization cases.
  • The Circle of Excellence Award for Environmentally Preferred Purchasing (The Johns Hopkins Hospital) celebrates the best in environmentally preferable purchasing programs. Evaluators consider interactions with group purchasing organizations and suppliers, environmentally preferable contracts, and the use of environmental attributes in requests for proposals and business reviews.
  • The Greenhealth Emerald Award (The Johns Hopkins Hospital) is presented to hospitals that demonstrate superior sustainability programs.

Our World-Class Employees Are Going for Gold

The Johns Hopkins Hospital and Health System Corporation will recognize more than 900 employees who have been a valuable part of the workforce for 10, 20, 30, 40 or 50 years at the annual Employee Appreciation Service Awards Ceremony. Taking place Monday, Sept. 12, from noon to 1:30 p.m. in Turner Auditorium on the East Baltimore campus, the ceremony recognizes employees’ dedication to being the very best, aptly marked by the theme, “Our World-Class Employees Are Going for Gold.” Recipients of the Baker-King Awards, the Edward A. Halle Prize for Excellence in Patient Service and the Human Resources Presidential Leadership Award will also be named during the celebration.

Sibley Trading Post

When Sibley Memorial Hospital nurse Heather Rizzo observed that computers, chairs, copiers and fax machines were routinely discarded by various departments and units that no longer needed them, she reasoned that other groups could use these items and save Sibley from additional purchases. With the support of the Sibley Innovation Hub, the pre-surgical testing clinical coordinator has established Sibley Trading Post, a website that lists equipment and supplies that are available for reuse. She says, “My goal is to have every department use this tool to post items that are no longer wanted or needed—and hopefully to include any supplies that are expiring but can be utilized by other departments so that waste will also be reduced.” For more information, contact Rizzo at [email protected].