For the third straight year, Providence Holy Cross Medical Center has been presented with California’s Waste Reduction Awards Program honors for the hospital’s environmentally friendly policies to cut waste and reduce green-house gas emissions.

In the past year, Providence Holy Cross has recycled or re-used nearly 2,200 tons of refuse, which includes items ranging from packing materials to furniture to electronic waste.

Nearly 16 tons of lumber were recycled and 161 tons of paper.  These efforts saved 23,212 cubic yards of landfill space.

“It is our goal to live up to our core value of stewardship as we continue to do our part to ensure a cleaner environment for the next generation,” said John Ramirez, director of facilities and support services. “For the past three years, we have diverted materials from landfills and reduced greenhouse gas emissions through our in-house recycling program with the help of every Providence Holy Cross employee.”

Providence Holy Cross in Mission Hills was one of just two Southern California hospitals to receive the California Integrated Waste Management Board’s 2008 WRAP honors. 
“Green” policies are difficult to establish in hospitals because of the measures that must be taken to control the spread of infection, measures that involve the use of materials that cannot be recycled.

Recycling and re-use efforts have paid off not only in reducing trash, but in a $14,330 savings, primarily for trash disposal.

“In this economy, that money is much better spent elsewhere,” Ramirez said.

Providence Holy Cross Medical Center is guided by five core values: Respect, Compassion, Excellence, Justice, and finally, Stewardship, the value that drives “green” efforts at all Providence Health & Services facilities.

The commitment continues as Providence Holy Cross builds its 142-bed expansion that will be among the first LEED-certified “green” hospital buildings in California – built to nationally recognized standards set by Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design to ensure environmentally friendly design.