Medical center saves costs and resources in the operating room

The University of Maryland Medical Center is cutting costs in a sizable way through the adoption of data-driven sustainability and energy-efficiency practices regarding its management of operating rooms and the use of medical devices.

Adopting approaches that are supported by the health care member association Practice Greenhealth, the medical center realized savings of $1.2 million through single-use device reprocessing and OR kit reformulation in 2014, says Justin Graves, R.N., the medical center’s sustainability manager. Additional savings were derived from more efficient energy usage, reduced medical waste and increased recycling.  

The practices that led to the cost savings came from the University of Maryland’s involvement in the "Greening the OR" initiative of Practice Greenhealth, a membership association of about 1,400 health care organizations that are committed to environmental stewardship.

"UMMC got involved in this initiative because it's the right thing to do for the environment and the health of the community, and it saves money," Graves says. The university medical center has been participating in Practice Greenhealth programs since 2007.

For more on this story, read the full article from our sister publication Hospital & Health Networks.