Sustainability

Sustainability Initiative at UMass Memorial Health

UMass Memorial Health initiated a sustainability program, spearheaded by a committed team of caregivers and physicians, seeking to conserve both environmental and financial resources throughout our system. Our goal was to shift how we think about and use our resources. The initiative encourages our staff to adopt measures (large and small) that can make a difference.

What Is Sustainability?

Sustainability is the search for economic, environmental and social balance that supports the planet’s health and prosperity. At UMass Memorial, our sustainability initiative implements systemwide processes that reduce our environmental impact and save resources.

These efforts include: 

• Tool and resource sustainability: Ask before you open. Identify items that need to be opened immediately for patient care and those that need to be on hand but left unopened until needed.
• Waste management sustainability: Know before you throw. Ensure appropriate use of dedicated waste streams (recyclable, solid waste, etc.) for more efficient, environmentally friendly disposal.
• Environmental anesthetic sustainability: UMass Memorial has already eliminated the use of desflurane, one of the anesthetic medications that is most harmful to the environment. Now efforts are underway to reduce other anesthetic gases to protect the hospital ecosystem, caregivers and patients.
• Recycling and recycled materials: Increase the use of recyclable and safe, reprocessed products.

We encourage caregivers to identify ways to improve and promote our sustainability, such as:

• Bringing lunch containers to work to reduce the use of Styrofoam in the cafeteria.
• Encouraging one another to turn off lights when leaving a room.
• Printing two-sided and black-and-white as much as possible. Or better yet, sending patient care instructions via myChart.
• Using ground coffee instead of disposable coffee pods in clinics and break rooms.

Results of Our Sustainability Initiative

Thanks to everyone’s efforts, we are seeing the benefits of “sustainability economics.” 

Read some of our success stories: 

• Our Electrophysiology Lab team contracts with a group to reprocess (steriley prepare for reuse) some equipment. This has dramatically reduced waste, does not affect patient care and saves UMass Memorial over $650,000 each year.
• Nursing units are reprocessing a limited number of other devices, saving another $200,000 each year. In this way we can direct money to our mission of delivering the highest quality care to our patients.