Newswise — SEATTLE – (Sept. 11, 2013) – Virginia Mason has been named one of the 50 Greenest Hospitals in America for 2013 by Becker’s Hospital Review, a leading health care publication.
“Many forward-thinking organizations have put ecological health, green initiatives and environmental stewardship as foundational pieces of their mission — some for as long as two decades … They lead by example through mass-scale and local carbon-cutting efforts, and they also demonstrate how environmental sustainability is everyone’s responsibility,” the publication states. Virginia Mason is a health care leader in sustainability, always focused on the patient — improving their health, reducing the cost of quality care and preserving the environment for future generations. Virginia Mason’s award-winning environmental stewardship initiative, EnviroMason, has strong support from both senior leadership and team members. It empowers individuals across the organization to minimize environmental footprints through recycling, composting, reducing energy and water use, commuting via alternative transportation to and from work, and purchasing sustainably grown food. Virginia Mason also participates in the Healthier Hospitals Initiative, a national effort that encourages hospitals to embrace sustainable business models. “As an organization, we’re committed to providing the highest quality of care while reducing our environmental impacts,” said Brenna Davis, sustainability director at Virginia Mason. “We are proud to be recognized as one of the greenest hospitals in the nation. This is a testament to the tireless effort by everyone at Virginia Mason to protect the natural environment for generations to come.”
About Virginia Mason Medical CenterVirginia Mason Medical Center, founded in 1920, is a nonprofit regional health care system in Seattle that serves the Pacific Northwest. Virginia Mason employs more than 5,300 people and includes a 336-bed acute-care hospital; a primary and specialty care group practice of more than 460 physicians; satellite locations throughout the Puget Sound area; and Bailey-Boushay House, the first skilled-nursing and outpatient chronic care management program in the U.S. designed and built specifically to meet the needs of people with HIV/AIDS. Benaroya Research Institute at Virginia Mason is internationally recognized for its breakthrough autoimmune disease research. Virginia Mason was the first health system to apply lean manufacturing principles to health care delivery to eliminate waste and improve quality and patient safety.
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