HHI Series: Less Waste - Red Bag Waste Reduction

Overview

Session Description

Everyone knows healthcare can be a messy business – with hospitals generating approximately 5.9 million tons of waste every year destined for landfills, incineration, or other environmentally harmful treatment options. What might not be so obvious is that the various waste streams within a healthcare can be very costly – with the average hospital spending lots of money on waste disposal each year. As hospitals look to identify cost-savings, one are for constant education is around regulated medical waste. Many hospitals currently throw much of their waste in the regulated medical waste (RMW) stream, despite being non-infectious. RMW is much more expensive – and harsher on the environment. Hospitals that have implemented an education, minimization and segregation program have seen significant cost savings and a reduction in overall waste.

Learn how Johns Hopkins Health System has used the HHI as a scorecard to establish measurable goals for sustainability improvements, and through a focused effort to reduce its regulated medical waste stream, was able to reduce RMW by over 50%, in the first six months!

Learning Objectives

Describe the different waste streams and types in healthcare organizations
Delineate opportunities to reduce waste and engage multiple stakeholders across the organization
Discuss strategies for successful implementation of recycling and regulated medical waste minimization programs
Highlight Johns Hopkins Health System case study, cost savings, successes and lessons learned

Presenter

Kristian Hayes, MPH, Assistant Director, General Services, Johns Hopkins Medicine

Kristian Hayes is Assistant Director of General Services at Johns Hopkins Hospital. She is currently responsible for creating a health system sustainability program and education and training program for the Department of General Services. Mrs. Hayes developed a system-wide Sustainability strategy that resulted in Johns Hopkins reaching Healthier Hospital Initiatives Less Waste and Engaged Leadership national targets. During her time, she doubled recycling from 7% to 16% and reduced RMW by over 50%. Within the first 2 months of her new role, she identified cost savings of $50,000 in Johns Hopkins recycling program and assisted with negotiations of system-wide waste management contract that saved the Health System $1.1 million annually.

Mrs. Hayes graduated from Yale University and is currently enrolled in the Doctorate in Public Health in Health Care Management and Leadership at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. She is a current Board Member for Greater Homewood Community Corporation and the United Way Partnership Board; serves on the Executive Committee of the American Heart Association Go-Red Campaign; and serves as the Continuing Education & Professional Development Chair for the Baltimore Chapter of the National Association of Health Service Executives.