McLaren Northern Michigan is proud to announce receiving the Stryker Healthy Hospital Gold Award. This award is reserved for hospitals with outstanding performance in environmental sustainability and improvement in overall hospital quality through medical device remanufacturing and reprocessing.
For over 10 years, McLaren Northern Michigan has been participating in Stryker’s Sustainability Solutions program. Through recycling efforts made by colleagues at the hospital, McLaren Northern Michigan avoided 9,689 pounds of waste and saved over $250,000 in 2016. The money saved is then reinvested into patient care initiatives.
Throughout the hospital, recycle containers are placed in convenient usage areas and are checked and collected by Stryker weekly. There are three main areas at McLaren Northern Michigan that devices are recycled. The operating rooms recycle any single-use item that is made of plastic or metal, the Electrophysiology Lab recycles all disposable catheters and cables, and the patient floors recycle items including disposable deep vein thrombosis sleeves, blood pressure cuffs, stethoscopes, pressure infuser bags, and splints.
“The Stryker Sustainability program gives us an alternative to conventional medical waste disposable,” stated Sean Hornbeck, Perioperative Services Business Manager at McLaren Northern Michigan. “It provides us with an avenue to recycle products that decrease overall health care cost while protecting the planet.”