Sustainability & Environmental Stewardship

In 2020, Mason Health 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.

Mason Health is the first of the Washington Rural Health Collaborative to join Practice Greenhealth. To watch the MasonWebTV interview with Scott Rich, Director, Growth & Marketing US & CANADA at Practice Greenhealth and Jennifer Capps, Chief Development & Communication Officer at Mason Health please see below.

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.

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

In 2021, Mason Health earned Practice Greenhealth's Environmental Excellence Award. Read about the award in the October 2021 issue of SCOPE magazine.

In 2022, Mason Health earned its second PGH Environmental Excellence Partner for Change Award.

In 2023, Mason Health earned its third Environmental Excellence Partner for Change Award, as well as its first Greening the Operating Room Award!

Public Hospital District No. 1 has announced that Mason General Hospital and Mason Clinic have earned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) ENERGY STAR® certification for superior energy performance. This is the second year that Mason General Hospital and Mason Clinic have earned the ENERGY STAR, reflecting a legacy of continued energy savings. With an ENERGY STAR score of 82 out of 100, Mason General Hospital/Mason Clinic outperforms 82 percent of similar buildings nationwide.

“Improving the energy efficiency of our nation’s buildings is critical to protecting our environment,” said Cindy Jacobs, Chief of the ENERGY STAR Commercial & Industrial Branch. “From the boiler room to the board room, organizations are leading the way by making their buildings more efficient and earning EPA’s ENERGY STAR certification.”

ENERGY STAR certified buildings and plants are verified to perform in the top 25 percent of buildings nationwide, based on weather-normalized source energy use that takes into account occupancy, hours of operation, and other key metrics. ENERGY STAR is the only energy efficiency certification in the United States that is based on actual, verified energy performance.

“We’re honored to earn the ENERGY STAR for superior energy performance at Mason General Hospital and Mason Clinic and appreciate the efforts of everyone who has been involved in its efficient operation,” said Patrick O’Neil, Director of Facilities Engineering. “Saving energy is just one of the ways we show our community we care, and that we’re committed to doing our part to protect the environment and public health, both today and for future generations.”

O’Neil credits this success to a continued commitment to energy efficiency measures implemented at Mason Health. Mason Health is a member of Practice Greenhealth, the nation’s leading organization dedicated to environmental sustainability in health care. Within two years of joining the organization, the District emerged as a leader in sustainability efforts in the region. In 2022, Mason Health received its second Environmental Excellence Award from Practice Greenhealth and was recognized at the national CleanMed Gala in Kansas City as an example of environmental stewardship in health care.

Mason Health departments work closely together to reach sustainability goals, such as the ongoing effort to reprocess single-use surgical items through Stryker’s Sustainability Solutions. Starting in 2021, Mason Health surgical teams have been trained to recycle Stryker products, which the Environmental Services (EVS) Department collects so that the Supply Chain Department can return those items to Stryker for reprocessing.

“When we buy those items back, we buy them back at 50 to 60 percent of the price,” said Sean Hazlett, Mason Health’s Director of Supply Chain. “It’s a considerable savings for the organization and it is reducing the amount of waste ending up in a landfill. We have a high rate of collection because the EVS team has done a phenomenal job.”

EVS works hard to procure Green Seal certified cleaning products and is working to reduce landfill waste. The Surgery Department is also at the front lines of eliminating harmful surgical smoke from operating rooms. In 2022, the department earned the Go Clear Award, presented by the Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN) to recognize health care facilities that have improved patient and employee safety by eliminating smoke caused by the use of lasers and electrosurgery devices during surgery. Mason Health earned its award by undergoing comprehensive surgical smoke education and testing and for providing the medical devices and resources necessary to evacuate surgical smoke during all smoke-generating procedures.

On average, ENERGY STAR certified buildings and plants use 35 percent less energy, cause 35 percent fewer greenhouse gas emissions, and are less expensive to operate than their peers—all without sacrifices in performance or comfort.

To date, tens of thousands of buildings and plants across all fifty states have earned the ENERGY STAR. For more information about ENERGY STAR for Buildings and Plants, visit www.energystar.gov/buildings.