Cover Story
A healthy environment
Huron Hospital’s ‘go green’ pledge helps more than patients and visitors.
By Abby Cymerman
Smart Business Cleveland | December 2007
When a company decides to implement changes to care for the
environment, it’s not a one-time deal but an opportunity for continuous improvement.
Dr. A. Gus Kious, president of Huron Hospital, a Cleveland Clinic
hospital, says the organization made a promise three years ago to
“go green” at every turn and improve patient outcomes by enhancing the environment of care. A multidisciplinary Green Team was
formed with the goal to reduce, recycle and redirect materials as
well as to create an environment that is less toxic and more sustainable.
To achieve its green mandate, Cleveland Clinic Regional
Hospitals’ President and CEO Fred DeGrandis says Huron
Hospital developed a two-part pledge: “to create a healthy environment that will not cause harm to the individuals within our
campus and community and to provide world-class care by
becoming good stewards of our environment.”
Since 2005, Huron Hospital has become a leader among local
medical facilities to enact sustainability and environmentally
responsible programs.
It was the first hospital in Northeast Ohio to complete the first eight-month program provided by Entrepreneurs for Sustainability of
Cleveland, a nonprofit group that teaches business leaders how to
integrate people, planet and profit to create healthier, more prosperous businesses.
In addition to making the hospital a healthier place for patients
and their visitors, Huron Hospital’s green programs have made it a
healthier place to work and have had a positive effect on the local
and global community.
Area recycling companies have experienced a significant increase
in business as the hospital turns over more materials to be converted for other uses, and the hospital has donated toiletries, medical
equipment, health care uniforms and other medical supplies to developing countries through international organizations.
DeGrandis says the hospital also has identified ways to reduce its
carbon footprint. These plans include using renewable energy systems, like wind, geothermal and solar; installing new energy-efficient windows; and reducing office devices by 50 percent and
replacing them with networked multifunction devices. Reducing
paper use, recycling metal and construction debris, and installing
low-flow showerheads and more dual-flush toilets are other efforts
in the works.
HOW TO REACH: Huron Hospital, (216) 761-3300 or www.huronhospital.org
