The Greening of the OR, a national effort to reduce surgery’s big environment was launched in May 2010 by Practice Greenhealth.  The 2-year old nonprofit claiming 1,000 hospital members, sees the OR as a major target for making healthcare more sustainable.

“ORs are the largest Waste generators in the hospital.  We are examining a range of interventions for reducing the environmental impact,” says Mary Lisi, Practice Greenhealth spokesperson.

Some areas Practice Green-health is targeting for greener OR practices include:

• Single-use device reprocessing. Reprocessing of devices designated by the original manufacturer as disposable can be reprocessed safely under food and Drug Administration-approved processes, yielding cost savings and reducing waste
• Reusable vs disposables. Practice Greenhealth says it’s time to reconsider whether reusables may be superior to disposable gowns, drapes, basins, and similar items, noting that reusable materials have improved, and cost-benefit analysis now points back in the direction of reusables
• OR supply packs. Often, preassembled supply kits have items that aren’t used and are thrown away.  Some organizations have set up regular processes to review their pack contents
• Waste anesthetic gas scavenging. New systems are being developed that go beyond current scavenging methods to collect exhaled anesthetic so it can be recycled, potentially preventing worker exposure and emissions
• Fluid waste management.  Fluid management systems that can be hooded directly to the sanitary sewer represent a green advantage over suction canisters that either require solidifiers for disposal as regulated medical wastes or manual emptying

The complete article can be found in the July 2010 issue of OR Manager or at www.ORmanager.com