"Hospitals"

by Kevin Taylor

We usually think of hospitals serving their communities by curing illness and helping injured people recover. Recently, I've heard of a couple of hospitals that have decided to go a little further in helping their communities and, at the same time, help themselves.

The first hospital is the Dominican Hospital in Santa Cruz which has a program called "Domin-Again". Domin-Again is a reuse program which was started in 1994 by the hospital ecology task force, to help reduce waste in the hospital and to provide needed resources to schools and other groups in the community. Plastic water bottles, boxes, buckets and lids, trays, packing chips, and other items were all being thrown away before some energetic and thoughtful hospital employees took the initiative to start this program. The program is housed in a hospital-owned garage and is operated voluntarily by staff and other interested persons.

As Carol George, Domin-Again's coordinator says, "this program gives another life to materials that were just thrown away."

Another example of a medical facility helping others and themselves is the Kaiser Permanente Laboratories of North Hollywood. This facility donates their used computers, microscopes, and medical equipment both to public schools and less developed countries. Cardboard, paper, and glass is also recycled and given to other companies for reuse. Additionally, by simply reusing plastic containers and sterilized test tubes, the facility saves over $62,000 annually.

Most communities in California have at least one hospital or medical facility. These may not only be a source of useful medicine for the community, but also useful materials. There are many other hospitals, in addition to the two highlighted above, that have started programs to further utilize surplus or discarded materials. These facilities have shown how creativity, waste reduction and business sense can combine to bring good health and good will to their communities.

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Last updated: August 01, 2008