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medical waste

• Going green could cut hospital costs
  Despite assumptions to the contrary, reducing your operating rooms' carbon footprint doesn't have to cost your facility more. In an article in the February issue of the Archives of Surgery, a Johns Hopkins team contends that going greener could help hospitals reduce waste and costs.Nearly 70 percent of hospital waste is generated by operating rooms and labor-and-delivery suites. At least some of the waste relates to choices made. That's why overhead lights in operating rooms often […]
• Contaminated medical waste turns up at city dump
  Contaminated medical waste from Providence Alaska Medical Center was discovered during a random load inspection at the Anchorage Regional Landfill, the Alaska Watchdog website reports.The bags included items infected with human blood and other fluids, used IV tubing, contaminated needles and other waste, Solid Waste Services Director Mark Madden, who oversees the landfill, told the Anchorage Daily News. Providence Alaska Medical Center was temporarily barred from using the landfill.Becky Hultber […]
• Your hospital's choice of anesthetics could speed global warming
  When prepping a patient for surgery, global warming may be the last thing on your mind. But the anesthetics used by a busy hospital contribute as much to global warming as the emissions from hundreds of cars a year, according to a new study published in the July issue of Anesthesia & Analgesia.Depending on the type of anesthetic used, an average mid-size hospital may equal the environmental impact of 100 to 1,200 cars per year. "Changes people could make in their practice right away […]
• Squandering supplies: Hospitals could trim costs by cutting medical waste
  It's healthcare's dirty little secret. Every year, tons of unused disposable medical devices and supplies and equipment that could be recycled are tossed into the trash. Consider it money down the drain. But a new movement is afoot to reduce medical waste, according to the New York Times. More than 1,000 hospitals and 80 companies belong to Practice Greenhealth, a nonprofit group based in Reston, Va., that is trying to help shrink the environmental footprint of healthcare institutions. […]