How Going Green Can Save Your Hospital Millions

When Stephanie M. Barman, RN, saw how much waste a single procedure in the OR generated, she knew something needed to be done.

“One procedure created an entire case cart of trash,” said Ms. Barman, a nurse coordinator for high-risk OB/GYN surgeries at UnityPoint Health–Meriter in Madison, Wis.

Producing large quantities of waste is hardly unusual for hospitals. One analysis published in 2010 estimated that hospitals in the United States create just under 34 pounds of waste per staffed bed per day, which translates to approximately 11.5 billion pounds of trash each year. The OR generates a substantial portion of that waste, with estimates as high as one-third of a hospital’s total...