Christiana Care Health System Honored for Environmental Achievement

Partner for Change Award Honors Efforts to Reduce Waste

WILMINGTON, Del., May 19, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Christiana Care Health System has been honored with a 2011 Partner for Change with Distinction Award from Practice Greenhealth, the nation's leading organization engaged in the greening of healthcare.

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The Partner for Change with Distinction Award recognizes healthcare facilities that have achieved improvements in their mercury elimination, waste reduction, and pollution prevention programs. Christiana Care's waste reduction program has resulted in a 57% reduction in regulated medical waste of over 800,000 pounds and approximately 20% of solid waste is being recycled.  Christiana Care has committed to use renewable energy by purchasing 40% of its electricity from the Locust Ridge II wind power facility in central Pennsylvania.

"We are so pleased to have our efforts recognized at the national level," said Bob Mulrooney, Christiana Care's Vice President of Facilities Engineering. "Christiana Care is committed to reducing our environmental impact and we are continually striving to improve our performance. This award confirms that we are making great progress."

"The Environmental Excellence Awards recognize success stories," said Anna Gilmore Hall, executive director of Practice Greenhealth. "Christiana Care is a successful model of how health facilities can develop and implement pollution prevention programs to greatly improve the health of their patients, staff and community."

The Practice Greenhealth Environmental Excellence Awards were presented in Phoenix, AZ in conjunction with CleanMed 2011, a global conference for environmental leaders in health care.

Christiana Care Health System is one of the country's largest health care providers, serving more than 600,000 patients yearly. A not-for-profit academic center, Christiana Care includes two hospitals with 1,100 patient beds, a home health care service, preventive medicine, rehabilitation services, a network of primary care physicians and an extensive range of outpatient services. Find more information at www.christianacare.org.

Practice Greenhealth is the nation's leading membership and networking organization for institutions in the healthcare community that have made a commitment to sustainable, eco-friendly practices. For more information on Practice Greenhealth, visit www.practicegreenhealth.org.

SOURCE Christiana Care Health System