Milwaukee VA honored for green efforts

Practice Greenhealth, which works with 1,400 hospitals on sustainability projects, honored the Milwaukee VA with the Partner for Change Award and the Greening the OR Recognition Award as part of its annual awards program.

The Partner for Change Award recognizes superior performance in environmental sustainability, covering a range of different sustainability programs and activities. The Greening the OR Recognition Award honors facilities that have made substantial progress in reducing the impact of the surgical environment.

“I’m happy that we were recognized,” said James Fay, manager of the Green Environmental Management System for the medical center.

“It’s really all of the staff, managing these sustainability programs” that led to the honors, he said. “We (GEMS) provide guidance, but it’s (the staff) that is managing these things.”

Fay noted the following projects that led to the awards:

• Commingled recycling was expanded to 62 additional locations throughout the hospital.
• EMS finalized a contract with a waste management contractor which includes a 50% rebate for mixed metal and cardboard recycling.
• Disposal of hazardous and non-hazardous waste pharmaceuticals was changed, which has resulted in more than 4,000 pounds of plastic waste being diverted from landfills on an annual basis.
• The operating rooms’ surgical fluid waste management system has eliminated the need for offsite treatment and disposal of 13 tons of medical waste, saving the medical center over $300,000 annually. The OR also reduced certain greenhouse gas emissions by about 8 metric tons of CO2 equivalent (MTCO2e).
• Infographics were placed on all anesthesia machines, pointing out the environment impact of some anesthetic gases and encouraging conservation of those gases when possible.

“Some of the anesthetic gases we use are not good for the environment,” said Michael Kosanke, medical instrument technician for the operating rooms. Currently, most of those gases are vented out of the hospital and released into the atmosphere.

Fay noted that in 2022, the Milwaukee VA emitted the equivalent of 90 metric tons of carbon dioxide in the form of three anesthetic gases — sevoflurane, isoflurane and desflurane.

But the goal is to install a gas capture process within the next year, followed by a gas reclamation program (if approved by the FDA), which would allow the hospital to reclaim that anesthetic gas and reuse it, Fay said.

Until that happens, the infographics urge conservation with the tag, “Turn Down the Fresh Gas Flow!”

“We just want to make providers and nurse anesthetists more aware of the impact some of these gases have on the environment,” Fay said.

The OR has also instituted a process for collecting and disposing of surgical fluid waste via the sanitary sewer that saves the hospital the cost of shipping that waste and having it go through an energy-intensive decontamination method, Fay said.

The result? About 13 tons of waste is diverted, and the hospital saves money on disposable containers and personal protective equipment. All told, this saves the hospital more than $300,000 a year, Fay said.

In addition, the OR relies on reusable equipment, devices and linens, which also yield cost savings.

Kosanke said his colleagues are on board with the conservation efforts.

“They’ve been very accepting,” he said. “They know there is a problem, and the fact that we’re working on something to make that better has been really positive.”

Getting such buy-in from hospital staff is key to GEMS’ success.

“That (buy-in) is usually the most difficult part,” said Zane Kozarec, GEMS environmental engineer. “Education is a big part of it.”

In addition, recycling efforts throughout the facility have been stepped up, and Fay said he’d like to see that continue to expand. The hospital now supports commingled, or single-stream, recycling, meaning no need to separate paper, plastic container, metal cans and glass bottles.

Future projects including finding a way to recycle plastic bags and shipping wrap, reducing medical waste and working with nutrition and food service to reduce meat and dairy purchasing. In terms of sustainable food, meat and dairy use is among the highest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions, Fay said.

“We’re definitely passionate about sustainability … and we’re just looking to build on that continuously,” he said, noting everyone needs to be on board to see significant results.

“It’s that spirit of collaboration,” Fay said. “We work together, solve problems and make our medical center more sustainable.”