PARKLAND NAMED A ‘GREENEST HOSPITAL IN AMERICA’

Parkland Memorial Hospital has been named one of the 50 Greenest Hospitals in America by Becker’s Hospital Review. Hospitals recognized have a variety of programs and initiatives in place to reduce their waste output, energy consumption, water use and general environmental footprint.

Becker’s Hospital Review previously published a version of this list in 2013 and 2015.

The Becker’s editorial team selected hospitals for inclusion based on nominations and editorial research, looking for hospitals that have received awards or designations from organizations like Practice Greenhealth, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the American Society for Healthcare Engineering and the U.S. Green Building Council.

A complete list of the greenest hospitals can be found at: http://bit.ly/2eNrglg

Since its sustainability program was established in 2013, Parkland has recycled or diverted more than 3,800 tons of waste through 30 different programs. In addition, the laundry water reclamation system saves approximately 12 million gallons of water per year.

Parkland isn’t alone in its sustainability efforts. Each year the system partners with neighboring hospitals and universities to host an electronic waste take-back event for Dallas County. And twice yearly, Parkland partners with the Dallas County Hospital District Police Department to host a prescription take-back event where members of the public can turn in unwanted, used or expired medications including prescriptions, over-the-counter medicine and pet medicine for safe disposal.

In addition to Becker’s ‘green’ recognition, Parkland has received three LEED® Gold Certifications. In 2015, Parkland’s Women’s & Infants Specialty Health (WISH) Clinic and acute care hospital were awarded the LEED® Gold Certification from the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program, which sets voluntary standards for buildings. In 2013, Parkland earned LEED Gold for its Tower Garage located at the corner of Harry Hines Boulevard and Medical District Drive.

The LEED rating system offers four certification levels for new construction — Certified, Silver, Gold and Platinum — that correspond to the number of credits accrued in five sustainable design categories. The U.S. Green Building Council says LEED certification provides independent, third‐party verification that a building, home or community was built to “achieve high performance” in sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality.

For information about Parkland services, please visit www.parklandhospital.com.