Environmental Excellence Award Presented to HSHS Sacred Heart Hospital

HSHS Sacred Heart Hospital has been recognized nationally for its efforts to divert waste from landfills.

The 2022 Environment Excellence Award was recently presented to hospital leadership by Medline ReNewal, a national medical supply company, manufacturer and distributor.

HSHS Sacred Heart Hospital diverted more than 1,550 pounds of medical device waste from landfills in 2022 by collecting single-use items and giving them to Medline ReNewal where they are sterilized, tested and repurposed according to U.S. Food and Drug Administration standards. According to Medline ReNewal, some items can be reprocessed up to 10 times before its lifespan ends.

“Being committed to environmental sustainability is an important part of our hospital mission,” says Emily Cinquegrana, manager of supply chain services at HSHS Sacred Heart Hospital. “Preventing landfills from becoming overwhelmed reduces cost and carbon emissions and strengthens the supply chain industry. Reprocessing devices means minimizing reliance on products shipped from outside the U.S. and the materials used to create them.”

Medline ReNewal calculates the amount of diverted waste by using hospital collection data and device specific information.

In 2022, the supply company reported 7.4 million devices were collected from its customers and more than 1.1 million pounds of waste did not go into a landfill, which equates to 40 million water bottles.