Inova Health System Celebrates Earth Day, Marks Progress of ‘Going Green’ Initiatives

Activities Include Planting Garden for Pediatric Patients, Tree Plantings, Tree Seedling Giveaway

Falls Church, VA – (April 19, 2010) – On Thursday, April 22, Inova Health System will celebrate Earth Day at its hospitals with a variety of activities for employees and patients. Inova Alexandria, Inova Fairfax, Inova Fair Oaks, Inova Loudoun and Inova Mount Vernon hospitals will hold educational fairs, give away 4,000 native tree seedlings and hold tree planting ceremonies with the hospitals’ executive leaders at the following times and locations:

Inova Alexandria Hospital – 12:15 p.m., front lawn near gazebo
Inova Fair Oaks Hospital – 3 p.m., between Main Entrance and Medical Office Building #3620
Inova Fairfax Hospital – 12:30 p.m., lawn in front of the Comprehensive Addiction Treatment Services entrance (Blue Entrance)
Inova Loudoun Hospital – Noon, South Entrance of Medical Office Building #44055 (across from The Birthing Inn entrance)
Inova Mount Vernon Hospital – 3 p.m., Green Entrance

From 2 to 4 p.m., our young patients at Inova Fairfax Hospital for Children will help plant the Garden of Hope, a vegetable garden that will provide therapeutic activity for patients and serve as a springboard for discussions about healthy eating. The garden planting will take place at the 5th Floor Child Life Courtyard.

Media is welcome to attend these events – please contact Jeanne Mayer at 703-645-2769 or jeanne.mayer@inova.org in advance.

Inova has made a commitment to pursue sustainable ways of approaching each aspect of its business – from new construction to monitoring the energy use, waste and recycling involved in day-to-day operations. With the goal of establishing an environmental program that contributes to a safer and healthier environment for our patients, employees and community, Inova hired a Sustainability Engineer in 2008 and has employee “Green Teams” at each hospital.

Last year Inova switched to using recycled content paper exclusively, saving 3,500 trees per year, and reduced its medical waste by 50,000 pounds through education and program evaluation. Also in 2009, Inova’s hospitals recycled 130 tons of commingled recyclables (paper, plastic, metal and glass) a month, which equates to saving three acres of standing forest.

Inova employees have developed creative ways to reduce, reuse and recycle. At Inova Loudoun Hospital, employees are turning surgical blue wrap – the protective covering used to wrap sterilized instruments in the operating rooms – into tote bags. Hospital units also compete for “Oscar Awards” – or, rather, Oscar the Grouch awards – for reducing their waste.

Additional changes Inova has made in recent years include:

  • Adopting a purchasing policy promoting environmentally preferable products
  • Using Green Seal cleaning products
  • Hosting Farmers Markets at the hospitals
  • Adding preferred parking for carpools and hybrid vehicles
  • Incorporating a ”green” construction policy for future construction projects, including the use of LED lighting in the new parking garage at Inova Fair Oaks Hospital
  • Holding educational events for employees, looking at such topics as how to make homes more energy-efficient

Inova is a charter member of Practice Greenhealth (the nation’s leading organization for healthcare institutions that have made a commitment to sustainable, eco-friendly practices) and is a founding organization of the National Capital Region Sustainable Healthcare Alliance. Our hospitals won awards at CleanMed 2009, a global conference for healthcare’s environmental leaders. Knox Singleton, CEO, Inova Health System, will be part of the featured panel for CleanMed 2010, to be held in Baltimore in May.

Inova Health System is a not-for-profit healthcare system based in Northern Virginia that consists of hospitals and other health services, including emergency- and urgent-care centers, home care, nursing homes, mental health and blood donor services, and wellness classes. Governed by a voluntary board of community members, Inova’s mission is to improve the health of the diverse community it serves through excellence in patient care, education and research. Inova provides a healthy environment for its patients, families, visitors, staff and physicians by prohibiting tobacco use on its campuses.

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