SHELTON, WA – Mason Health has joined Practice Greenhealth, the leading nonprofit membership and networking organization for sustainable health care. The mission of Practice Greenhealth is to empower its members to increase their efficiencies and environmental stewardship while improving patient safety and care through tools, best practices and knowledge.

“We are strongly committed to sustainable health care,” said Mason Health and Public Hospital District No. 1 CEO and Superintendent Eric Moll. “By becoming a member of Practice Greenhealth, we are strengthening our position as a socially responsible organization and creating a healthy environment for our patients, visitors, staff and community.”

The health care sector has an enormous impact on the environment — from producing 5.2 billion tons of waste annually and consuming more than 8 percent of the nation’s energy. With 21.8 million people working in health care settings and facilities that operate 24 hours per day, seven days each week, plus purchasing power that represents 18 percent of the U.S. marketplace, health care organizations also have a tremendous opportunity to create better, safer, greener workplaces and communities.

Mason Health is the first of the Washington Rural Health Collaborative to join Practice Greenhealth.

“We are honored to have Mason Health join our growing network of more than 1,100 hospitals and health care systems that support sustainable health care and have made a commitment to environmentally preferable practices,” said Gary Cohen, President of Practice Greenhealth.

Practice Greenhealth network partners recognize sustainability as a means to practice the Hippocratic Oath — to heal and do no harm — through safer products, reduced air emissions, elimination of toxins, safer working environments, less waste and efficient use of energy and water.

As a network partner, Mason Health has access to tools, resources and expert knowledge that advance sustainable health care and drive change throughout the organization.

“This is an exciting opportunity,” Moll said. “We look forward to collaborating with Practice Greenhealth to move closer toward our sustainability goals and celebrate our achievements together, while highlighting many of the environmentally and socially responsible practices that we currently have in place. This includes participating in the Drug Take Back program through MED-Project and utilizing local vendors as a source for healthy menus and locally sourced food served by our Culinary Nutrition Services Department.”

To learn more about Practice Greenhealth, visit www.practicegreenhealth.org.

Mason Health, Public Hospital District No. 1 of Mason County, is certified by Det Norske Veritas (DNV) and is a licensed and accredited acute care hospital with a level four emergency trauma designation. There are more than 100 physicians on staff in 19 specialties. Mason Health now offers 3D Mammography Services. For more information on 3D mammograms or to find a health care provider, visit www.MasonGeneral.com.

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