Raising Awareness & Expanding "Green" Practices
More than 120,000 healthcare facilities in the United States create 5 million tons of solid waste annually and use 115 trillion BTUs of energy per year – 11 percent of all commercial consumption. We believe there is a significant opportunity to raise awareness, strengthen and expand existing "green" practices and encourage participation at Jefferson. This is especially important as we expand wellness initiatives and enhance employee morale, supporting improved patient outcomes and our environmental profile.
We are very pleased with the work that champions throughout the organization have taken in the past to improve Jefferson's environmental profile. In fact, we have won several awards as a result of these efforts. Moving forward, we have formed a Sustainable Council comprised of staff from Thomas Jefferson University, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital and Jefferson University Physicians to augment each Division's progress toward reducing their environmental impact through a collaborative committee framework.