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Health & Fitness

Kaiser Permanente San Rafael Earns National Partners for Change Award for Environmental Stewardship

Kaiser Permanente San Rafael receives awards for environmental stewardship and also as a commuter and bicycle friendly place to work.

The San Rafael Medical Center also recognized for commuter friendly efforts.

Kaiser Permanente’s San Rafael Medical Center is among the 2013 recipients of the “Partners for Change” Award by Practice Greenhealth, a national organization that promotes green practice, construction and resource conservation in health care.

To qualify for this honor, health facilities must meet a series of benchmarks, including a waste-recycling rate of at least 15 percent.  The San Rafael Medical Center works to identify, promote, and implement environmentally-friendly, sustainable and cost-effective practices to conserve natural resources, minimize waste and increase recycling.

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“Our mission at Kaiser Permanente is to improve the health of our members and the communities we serve,” said Judy Coffey, Sr. VP and Area Manager Kaiser Permanente Marin Sonoma. “We are proud that the San Rafael Medical Center has reduced waste to landfill by 35 % since 2009.  This and our other green practices support Kaiser Permanente’s Environmental Stewardship in healthcare. We are grateful for this recognition.”

In all, 29 Kaiser Permanente facilities around the country – including 15 in Northern California – were cited by Practice Greenhealth in this year’s awards.  All of the awards presented to Kaiser Permanente are a reflection of the environmental-stewardship efforts the organization is making system-wide. Kaiser Permanente is a health care leader nationally in saving energy, purchasing safer materials, sourcing sustainable food and reducing waste. For example, the organization has committed to aggressive targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions through on-site renewable energy use and energy conservation measures; providing sustainable food in its patient meals; safe recycling of single-use medical devices to eliminate waste; and eliminating toxins such as DEHP and PVC from many of its medical supplies.

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The national green award was given in Boston, Massachusetts on Thursday, April 25 by Practice Greenhealth, a non-profit membership organization founded in 1998 to support environmental stewardship and help develop best practices in the health-care community.

Kaiser Permanente San Rafael has recently received two additional awards. The Medical Center has been recognized as one of the Best Workplaces for CommutersSM by the National Center for Transit Research (NCTR).

Best Workplaces for Commuters recognizes employers who offer commuter benefits such as subsidized transit passes, vanpool subsidies, ride-matching services programs.

The Medical Center has also been recognized as a bronze level bike friendly business by the League of American Bicyclists for promoting cycling as an easy commute option that is in keeping with Kaiser Permanente’s mission to improve the health of our communities.

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