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Mid-Atlantic Sustainable Healthcare Newsletter - March 30 and April 3, 2009

Disclaimer: Some of the events, articles, and websites listed in this e-mail are non-EPA sponsored. EPA is listing them for your information only and is not responsible for the content of the websites/articles or the information distributed at a non-EPA listed event. EPA does not endorse any commercial product, service, or enterprise, and the policy views of any included organization do not necessarily reflect EPA's views.

On this page

  1. April 1 (No Foolin’): Improve Operating Margins with Energy Efficiency and New Purchasing Strategies
  2. April 2: Trends in Pharmaceutical Waste Management Webcast
  3. April 7: Continuing Medical Education -- Toxin Risks Healthcare Providers Should Know About at Home and Work
  4. April 9: Shaping Our Legacy -- Women's Health and the Environment
  5. Registration for CleanMed is Now Open!
  6. EPA Mid-Atlantic Regional Environmental Achievement Awards Nominations Now Open!
  7. Nursing, Health and the Environment
  8. Healthy People 2020 Public Comment Opportunity
  9. New Pharm Disposal Guidelines for Consumers (NOT for Hospitals)
  10. Responsible Care, Respectful Environments: Challenges and Solutions in the Green Healthcare Movement Part II, 3/11/09 and Part I, 3/4/09
  11. Practice Greenhealth Unites With Teleosis Institute, March 13, 2009
  12. Practice Greenhealth Enters Partnership with Johnson & Johnson for Health Care Sustainability Research and Training, 3/16/09
  13. Strategic Energy Management Planning Tools (SEMP)
  14. Aggregated Computational Toxicology Resource (ACToR)
  15. Clean Diesel Emerging Technologies Program - ARRA
  16. The Energy Leadership Forum is part of Premier’s energy program, SPHERE SM – and is brought to you by the Premier Safety Institute™ in collaboration with AdvisorLive educational programs on key healthcare topics. Future teleconferences—Save the Dates!
  17. Energy Star Healthcare benchmarking for Acute Care or Childrens , 2009 dates in April and June 2009
  18. EPA's Clean DG Policy and CHP Webinar Series: Biomass CHP Applications
  19. Practice Greenhealth Webinars
  20. The HEALTHCARE DESIGN Webinar Series 2009
  21. ATSDR CDC Funding Opportunity: Environmental Health and Toxicology Education
  22. Spring Sustainable Food Roundtable for Health Care

Other Issues of This Newsletter | Contact for This Newsletter

ANNOUNCEMENTS and OPPORTUNITIES

1. April 1 (No Foolin’): Improve Operating Margins with Energy Efficiency and New Purchasing Strategies, 2:00 to 3:00 p.m. EDT

Speakers include Al Neuner, Associate VP of Facility Operations, Geisinger Health Systems, Danville, PA; Vince Pryor, CFO and Corporate VP for Finance, Ingalls Health System, Harvey, IL; Nick DeDominicis, Director of Healthcare Clean Energy Exchange (part of Practice Greenhealth); and Gina Pugliese, VP at Premier Safety Institute. Objectives include: Learn how Geisinger doubled its campus size without increasing energy demand and saved $3 million annually. Find out about funding options and ROI on specific energy projects. Discover how Ingalls saved $800,000 using a reverse auction for energy purchasing and renewable energy, reducing their carbon footprint. Sponsored by the Premier Safety Institute. Information on upcoming teleconferences and how to register Exit EPA Click for Disclaimer. Info on the Premier Safety Institute.

2. April 2: Trends in Pharmaceutical Waste Management Webcast, 2:15-3:15 p.m. EDT

Join Premier for an informational webcast on Trends in Pharmaceutical Waste Management. Did you know the EPA Office of Water will be surveying more than 3,000 healthcare facilities in 2009 regarding drug disposal? Are you aware of the new proposed Universal Waste Rule for pharmaceuticals? Have you struggled to implement your pharmaceutical waste management program? Join Premier and Charlotte Smith, R. Ph., M.S., president of PharmEcology Associates, LLC, for an update on Trends in Pharmaceutical Waste Management to hear the latest on the increased focus on pharmaceutical waste at the EPA and how it may impact your facility. This is not an EPA webinar. Register Exit EPA Click for Disclaimer.

3. April 7: Continuing Medical Education -- Toxin Risks Healthcare Providers Should Know About at Home and Work

At the Henry Hood Center for Health Research, Geisinger Medical Center, Danville, PA. More information or to register Exit EPA Click for Disclaimer.

4. April 9: Shaping Our Legacy -- Women's Health and the Environment

Sponsored by Delaware Nurses Association's Nurses Healing Our Planet. Conference about women's health and environmental exposures. At Christiana Care Health System. Call 302-998-3141 for more info.

5. Registration for CleanMed is Now Open!

Join CleanMed Exit EPA Click for Disclaimer in Chicago, May 18-20, 2009 for the Global Conference on Environmentally Sustainable Health Care. Don’t miss it!

6. EPA Mid-Atlantic Regional Environmental Achievement Awards Nominations Now Open!

Nominations are now being accepted for the 2009 Environmental Achievement Awards. Any individual, company, nonprofit or volunteer organization, or governmental entity is eligible. Self-nominations are welcome. Hospitals are welcome to apply and to tell others about this opportunity. Deadline is Friday, May 29, 2009. Nomination Form.

7. Nursing, Health and the Environment

Seminar sponsored by Maryland Hospitals for a Healthy Environment, April 30th, 2009, 1:30 pm - 5:30 pm at the University of Maryland Medical Center Shock Trauma Auditorium. Agenda to include: Environmental and Occupational Health in Healthcare, e-commons, Green Teams 101 and 401, and a Green Team panel to answer all of your green team questions. Registration is FREE.

8. Healthy People 2020 Public Comment Opportunity

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) invites you to give your comments and suggestions as part of the collaborative process of building Healthy People 2020. In 2008, feedback was collected on various conceptual aspects and proposals for specific elements, including vision, mission, overarching goals, organizing framework, users, and implementation. General comments were also collected and used to inform the Healthy People 2020 process. Healthy People 2020 will be launched in two phases. The organizing framework, including the vision, mission and overarching goals, will be released in 2009. The specific objectives, accompanied by strategies for achieving them, will be launched in 2010. In preparation for the process of creating draft objectives for Healthy People 2020, HHS is seeking preliminary comments on existing Healthy People 2010 objectives. Comments received by April 24 will be considered as they create the draft objectives for Healthy People 2020. This is a preliminary input period that will help inform the development of a set of draft Healthy People 2020 objectives. A more extensive public comment period on the draft Healthy People 2020 objectives will be conducted at a future date. There were 30 individual environmental health objectives in Healthy People 2010. More information and access to the 2010 objectives.

IN THE NEWS

9. New Pharm Disposal Guidelines for Consumers (NOT for Hospitals)

The Office of National Drug Control Policy has posted a new version of the consumer drug disposal guidelines (PDF) (1 pg, 95K, About PDF). The new guidelines discourage flushing and no longer include a list of specific drugs that should be flushed. The order of the recommended procedures has also been altered.

10. Responsible Care, Respectful Environments: Challenges and Solutions in the Green Healthcare Movement Part II, 3/11/09 and Part I, 3/4/09

Read Janet Brown's "Responsible Care, Respectful Environments: Challenges and solutions in the Green Healthcare Movement" Exit EPA Click for Disclaimer parts I and II (scroll down to Green Health Design Online).

11. Practice Greenhealth Unites With Teleosis Institute, March 13, 2009

Practice Greenhealth has united with the Teleosis Institute to help transform healthcare into a model for sustainability. Teleosis, a non-profit organization based in Berkeley, CA, will be folded into the suite of service programs offered by Practice Greenhealth. Both organizations provide solutions and management assistance to the health care community in developing sustainable practices. Press Release Exit EPA Click for Disclaimer.

12. Practice Greenhealth Enters Partnership with Johnson & Johnson for Health Care Sustainability Research and Training, 3/16/09

This program will help healthcare facilities reduce their environmental footprint. Practice Greenhealth announced a partnership with Johnson & Johnson to launch a sustainability research and training program within the U.S. health care sector. The partnership aims to prepare professionals at hospitals and other health care facilities to reduce environmental impacts and develop sustainable operations at their facilities. Press Release Exit EPA Click for Disclaimer.

TOOLS AND RESOURCES

13. Strategic Energy Management Planning Tools (SEMP)

From BetterBricks An initiative of the Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance and supported by local electric utilities in the Northwest. Tools, resources, case studies, checklists, spreadsheets, calculators, for making the case to leadership, energy management planning, calculating life cycle costs, financing options, improving building operations, building system diagnosis, building high performing design and construction, sample RFPs for equipment, tips for staff and public awareness of energy efficiency, tools for tracking and recognition. The Hospitals and Healthcare resources section is organized by the SEMP steps and includes tools such as PowerPoint presentations and management plan templates. Healthcare tools Exit EPA Click for Disclaimer. Healthcare section Exit EPA Click for Disclaimer.

14. Aggregated Computational Toxicology Resource (ACToR)

ACToR (Aggregated Computational Toxicology Resource) is a collection of databases collated or developed by the U.S. EPA National Center for Computational Toxicology (NCCT). More than 200 sources of publicly available data on environmental chemicals have been brought together and made searchable by chemical name and other identifiers, and by chemical structure. Data includes chemical structure, physico-chemical values, in vitro assay data and in vivo toxicology data. Chemicals include, but are not limited to, high and medium production volume industrial chemicals, pesticides (active and inert ingredients), and potential ground and drinking water contaminants. View.

FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES

15. Clean Diesel Emerging Technologies Program - ARRA

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announces its intent to request proposals for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Funding for Clean Diesel Emerging Technologies Program. This program will support projects that reduce diesel emissions through the use, development and commercialization of emerging technologies. $20 million expected to be available, up to 20 awards anticipated. The RFP is posted and will close 5/4/09. More info or cleandiesel@epa.gov.

UPCOMING WEBINARS AND TELECONFERENCES

16. The Energy Leadership Forum is part of Premier’s energy program, SPHERE SM – and is brought to you by the Premier Safety Institute™ in collaboration with AdvisorLive educational programs on key healthcare topics. Future teleconferences—Save the Dates!

17. Energy Star Healthcare benchmarking for Acute Care or Childrens, 2009 dates in April and June 2009

This is a free On-line Training. There are two dates in 2009 for hospitals to take the "Energy Star On-line Training for Healthcare Facilities Rate the Energy Performance of Your Healthcare.” Please note: Energy Star benchmarking information is confidential . EPA does not have access to the actual data or the names of hospitals that have benchmarked. EPA only gets an update on the number of accounts.

Space is limited so register early. Register Exit EPA Click for Disclaimer. Can't make any of the LIVE training dates, you can listen to a previous recorded session. Info on upcoming teleconferences and how to register Exit EPA Click for Disclaimer.

18. EPA's Clean DG Policy and CHP Webinar Series: Biomass CHP Applications

The EPA Combined Heat and Power Partnership will be hosting the next Webinar, titled “Biomass CHP Applications - Part 1 of 2,” on April 30, 2009, from 3:00 PM to 4:30 PM EDT. The Webinar will be the first in a two-part series focused on biomass CHP applications. The April Webinar will focus on the policy and market aspects of biomass CHP. Speakers will discuss the opportunities, benefits, and challenges of biomass CHP in today’s market. The second Webinar in the series is June 25, 2009, and will focus on biomass CHP technologies. Topics will include a discussion of the Partnership’s Biomass CHP Catalog of Technologies, as well as other emerging biomass CHP technologies, and case study presentations of successful biomass CHP projects. These Webinars are part of an EPA series focusing on clean DG and CHP topics. To learn more about the series and to see past as well as upcoming Webinar topics, visit the CHP Partnership’s Webinars Web site.

19. Practice Greenhealth Webinars

NOTE: All webinars are at 1:00 p.m. There is a cost to participate. Information and to register Exit EPA Click for Disclaimer.

20. The HEALTHCARE DESIGN Webinar Series 2009

The series is comprised of 14 programs that bring you top experts in the field of healthcare design discussing topics you can put to use right away. There is a cost to participate. Here is the list of programs in the HEALTHCARE DESIGN Webinar Series 2009 Exit EPA Click for Disclaimer:

ANNOUNCEMENTS and OPPORTUNITIES

21. ATSDR CDC Funding Opportunity: Environmental Health and Toxicology Education

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Procurement and Grants Office has published the funding opportunity announcement, “Environmental Health and Toxicology Educational Research Program (U01).” The purpose of this funding opportunity is to educate students, public health professionals and community outreach groups in the area of environmental health. This RFA addresses “Healthy People 2010” priority area(s) for incorporation of environmental health into the educational institutions that train graduate students and primary health care providers through research and education to improve the public’s understanding of health risks and prevention of environmental pollutants. The primary objective of this funding opportunity announcement (FOA) is to develop strategies to improve environmental health, with an emphasis on outcomes of low-income and/or minority communities at the local, state, and national levels; secondarily, conduct substance-specific research to address needs identified by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) for Priority Data Needs. By establishing a joint effort between community outreach and substance-specific research, this FOA will address both education and research as they each relate to environmental health. The applicant will be expected to devote the majority of time to community outreach and education and no more than 25% to research activities. The applicant must address all the following:

Approximately $500,000 will be available to fund two awards. Letters of intent are due April 17. Details.

22. Spring Sustainable Food Roundtable for Health Care

Tuesday, April 28, 2009 from 8 AM – 12 noon at Holy Redeemer Medical Center, Meadowbrook, PA. The relationship between health and how our food is produced, packaged and distributed is more critical today than ever. Hospitals are realizing that food purchasing choices reflect a broader understanding of healthy food. Come learn about sustainable food for health care and get connected with valuable resources in the Philadelphia region! Who should attend? Hospital Leaders, Food Service Directors and Purchasers, Nutritionists, Environmental Services, and Nursing. Topics include:

To RSVP, contact Dianne Moore (healthyfoodinhealthcare@comcast.net), Manager, Healthy Food in Health Care Program, Women's Health and Environmental Network, 610-949-9497. Free to hospitals, $20 to other members of the healthcare sector.

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