Celebrating Our First Year of Being Green!

It´s hard to believe that it´s been just over a year since we launched the Kettering Health Network Green Initiative!

On November 3, 2008, the Network "Green Team" met for the very first time to begin to tackle a very big job – helping KHN start to become a "green organization." All were employees and doctors who care about the health of our planet and volunteered to help with preservation efforts.

´The KHN Green Initiative is one way we are fulfilling our sacred mission – improving the quality of the life of the people in the communities we serve. And in the spirit of the Seventh-day Adventist health care ministry, being stewards of our earth and taking care of our environment is another way that we can convey God´s love.

In the past 14 months, our Green Team members have truly been champions of change. They have energetically and enthusiastically led the charge to help us begin to modify behaviors and processes so we can conduct our business in ways that help protect and preserve our Earth. I must individually recognize two people in our Supply Chain Management Department who have done an excellent job in leading this initiative – Rene Boyer and Laura Clark. Without their passion and vision, we wouldn´t be where we are today and we are grateful to them.

The KHN Green Initiative goals are to:

• Establish KHN as a leader and model of exceptional environmental stewardship;
  
• Assess our current "green" practices and measure our achievements;
  
• Be cost-neutral as much as possible;
  
• Provide employees with information and work with suppliers to establish discounts to make it easier to be "green" at home;
  
• And importantly, to celebrate our successes in this initiative!

• Launched single-stream recycling at Grandview and Southview;
  
• Began a battery recycling program at four of our five medical centers;
  
• Promoted rapid rebates (over $50,000!) for DP&L Energy;
  
• Started Network recycling of e-waste (old computers and related items);
  
• Facilities installed new chiller and boiler burners to reduce energy costs and consumption;
  
• Transitioned to an e-paystub, and began publishing pay day newsletters electronically;
  
• Launched KHN Today as a web-based, e-newsletter.

Frank J. Perez, FACHE Chief Executive Officer Kettering Health Network