Special Holiday Edition

Circulate to:

____ Safety                  ____ Infection Control

____ Plant Operations ____ Other

P2 University 

The Ohio Hospital Environmental Leadership Council would like to thank East Liverpool City Hospital for hosting the most recent P2 University workshops. This three-day intensive training sessions involved waste stream audits, strategies to prevent pollution, and programs that reduce waste stream volume. OHA hopes to hold more P2 University workshops in 2003.

P2 University was taught by Glenn McRae and Hollie Shaner from CGH Environmental, you can learn more about CGH by visiting their Web site at www.cghenvironmental.com.

2003 H2E Teleconference

H2E will be holding free teleconference calls on the second Friday of each month at 1 p.m. eastern standard time. If anyone would like to participate in organizing these teleconference or being a speaker, contact Laura Brannen at laura.brannen@valley.net.

The proposed calendar is as follows:

Jan. 10—Mercury: meeting the MOU challenge

Feb. 14—Waste Management Cost Reductions: RMW Reduction

March 14—Recycling and Management of Universal Waste

April 11—Practical Tips to Starting or Enhancing your Recycling Programs.

May 9—JCAHO: Using Environmental Programs as Performance Improvement

June 13—EPP: Low hanging fruit and other EPP Success Stories.

July 11—Hazardous Waste Minimization

Aug. 8—Greener Cleaner/ Disinfectants

Sept. 12—Pharmaceutical Disposal

Oct, 10—Reprocessing of Single Use Devices and other Reuse Opportunities.

Nov. 14—Nurses: The Role of Nurses in Implementing Environmental Improvements.

Dec. 12—Green Buildings

For each topic, an e-mail will be sent to the H2E listserv and H2E Partners. The calls are free for H2E members and participants use a toll free number. The presentation will start promptly at 1 p.m.

If you are not a member of H2E it is easy to join visit the web site at www.h2e-online.org/ for more information.

Did you Know?

While the holiday season brings good cheer for most people, it also brings increased solid waste to landfills, harm to the environment, and additional debt to the average American family. Here are some environmental friendly tips for a less wasteful -- perhaps a less stressful - - holiday season this year.

• Did you know that every year 2.65 billion holiday cards are bought in the United States? This is enough to fill a football stadium 10 stories high, but organizations, such as St. Jude’s Ranch for Children, can help you recycle your cards.

Over 30 years ago, St. Jude’s Ranch for Children came up with the idea of turning the previous year’s Christmas cards into “new” cards for the coming season. It has since expanded the program to include all-occasion greeting cards; it recycles just about anything that starts with a used greeting card front.

 

The organizations children precision cut the card front and glue it to pre-printed card stock. The children receive 15 cents per each acceptable card produced, which is divided between their savings and college fund, their cottage fund for special group outings, and extra pocket money for the kids.

 

Why not send the front of your greeting cards to:

St. Jude’s Ranch for Children

100 St. Jude’s Street

Boulder City, NV 89005-1618

• Another tip for enjoying a more environmental friendly holiday is to can cut the fronts of your holiday cards and reuse them as “postcards” next year. You’ll save on postage as well.

• Did you know that between Thanksgiving and New Years Day that Americans throw away about 25% more trash. That’s an additional 5 million tons of garbage.

• Did you know that if each household canceled 10 mail order catalogs it would reduce trash by 3.5 pounds per year. If everybody did this the stack of canceled catalogs would be 2000 miles high.

• Did you know that if every family reused just two feet of holiday ribbon, the 38,000 miles of ribbon saved could tie a bow around the entire planet.

EPA Orders two Firms to Stop Selling Hospital Disinfectant
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)has ordered two companies to stop selling what the agency says is an ineffective hospital disinfectant and tuberculocide. The EPA asked Biospan Technologies, Inc., of Washington, Mo., and Infection Control Technologies of Woods Cross, Utah, to recall their Bi-Arrest 2 product. The product also is distributed under the name Dow Liquid Disinfectant Formulation 2A, according to the EPA. The agency said the product is ineffective, and its continued use to control microorganisms in operating rooms, emergency rooms and other public health situations could pose a serious risk to the public.

The product label said it was effective against pseudomonas aeruginosa and mycobacterium tuberculosis, but EPA tests found that was not the case. For more information, visit

www.wastenews.com/headlines2.html?id=1038949772.

Audio Tapes Available

OHA has hosted a series of telephone briefings to assist you with EPA regulatory compliance, waste stream management and volume reduction, mercury elimination and pollution prevention. Audio tapes of those telephone briefings are available for $5 each, including shipping and handling. Tapes available are: What’s going down Drain?, JCAHO Standards for Environment of Care, Addressing Hazardous Material, and Creating a P2 Plan, Surviving an EPA Inspection; Holding a Mercury Thermometer Exchange, and Green Cleaning, Keeping Score, and Reducing Red Bag Waste. Contact Susan Zabo at 614.221.7614 or e-mail susanz@ohanet. 

P2 Workgroup

Join OHA’s list servto ask questions on environmental issues. One of the Environmental Leadership Council members will answer the questions or find an expert who can. Join by visiting our Web site at www.ohanet.org/p2/.

OHA EnviroNews

Editors: Rick Sites, OHA (ricks@ohanet.org) 
Glenn McRae, CGH Environmental Strategies, Inc. (Glennmcrae@aol.com) 
Hollie Shaner, RN, MSA, CGH Environmental Strategies, Inc. (Hshaner@aol.com) 
Susan Zabo, OHA (susanz@ohanet.org)

Additional information or copies of any reports cited, contact Susan Zabo or Rick Sites at 614.221.7614 or by e-mail.