St. John’s Riverside Hospital Recognized for its Leadership Role in 'Green' Practices

PR Log (Press Release) – Nov 05, 2009 – YONKERS, NY  — St. John’s Riverside Hospital, which has garnered national and regional acclaim for its high quality health care, is also being recognized by healthcare and environmental organizations for its leadership role in practicing “green” initiatives.

St. John’s, which recently received the Greater New York Hospital Association Award for “Greening,” has also been awarded the Practice Greenhealth Environmental Excellence Award. St. John’s is also one of the first hospitals in the area to receive the Making Medicine Mercury-Free Award from Practice Greenhealth. The Making Medicine Mercury-Free award recognizes facilities that have virtually eliminated mercury from their facilities and have made a commitment to continue to be “mercury free.”  Practice Greenhealth is a nonprofit membership organization founded on the principles of positive environmental stewardship and best practices by organizations in the health care community.

“We’ve been environmentally-conscious for quite some time and our ultimate goal is to have zero waste,” said Kathy Smith-Bernier, Director of Environmental Services for St. John’s.  “Not only do our ‘green’ practices save the environment, but they also save money and improve safety for patients, visitors and employees,” she added.

The recycling program at St. John’s has produced impressive results. For example, last year the hospital recycled:
630,120 pounds of cardboard and paper;
38,489 pounds of scrap metal;
28,745 pounds of can, plastic and glass;
8,723 pounds of kitchen grease;
7,670 pounds of computer equipment  
Changing to a microfiber mopping system saved more than 105,000 gallons of water.  

All of the hospital’s glass cleaners, neutral floor cleaners and general purpose cleaners have been replaced with Green Seal Certified cleaners, while a non-aerosol, soy-based product replaced stainless steel polish. St. John’s also purchased automatic floor scrubbers to eliminate the need for chemicals and limit water use for cleaning floors.

In all hospital restrooms, paper towels now consist of 100 percent recovered materials and are chlorine free. The restrooms also use coreless toilet paper rolls that are chlorine free. The hospital’s laundry equipment uses less water and energy now than in the past, and vacuums used in the facility must now contain a hepa filter. To conserve energy, St. John’s replaced incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs and has installed automatic motion-censored shut-off lights in newly constructed areas.
St. John’s also donates bio-medical equipment, stretchers, wheelchairs, and other items to the AFYA Foundation in Yonkers, which transports the equipment to hospitals across Africa.

“We have always strived to be an environmentally responsible leader in the community,” added Ms. Smith-Bernier, “and we will continue to develop new and innovative ways to make St. John’s an even ‘greener’ place for everyone who comes through our doors.”

St. John’s Riverside Hospital is a 407-bed hospital that has provided health care to the City of Yonkers and southern Westchester since 1869. Approximately 450 physicians, representing almost every medical and surgical specialty, are on staff. Riverside Health Care System, Inc. includes St. John’s Andrus, ParkCare and Dobbs Ferry Pavilions, Cochran School of Nursing, Michael N. Malotz Skilled Nursing Pavilion, and Park Central Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation Center.