FOR  IMMEDIATE  RELEASE   Contact:     Mary  E.  Lisi    
April  5,  2011      888-­‐379-­‐6664    
   mlisi@practicegreenhealth.org    
 
Practice  Greenhealth  Announces  Winners  of  
2011  Environmental  Excellence  Awards  
Awards  Mark  Best  Programs  in  Sustainable  Healthcare  
 
(Phoenix,  AZ)  Practice  Greenhealth,  the  nation’s  only  membership  association  devoted  to  
environmentally  responsible  healthcare,  has  announced  its  2011  Environmental  Excellence  
Award  winners.  These  competitive  awards  are  given  within  the  healthcare  sector  to  institutions  
for  outstanding  programs  to  reduce  the  facility’s  environmental  footprint.    
 
St.  Francis  Hospital–Eastside,  and  St.  Francis  Hospital–Downtown,  (Greenville,  SC),  of  the  Bon  
Secours  St.  Francis  Health  System,  were  recognized  with  Practice  Greenhealth‘s  highest  
award  by  being  admitted  to  the  Environmental  Leadership  Circle,  which  honors  facilities  that  
exemplify  environmental  excellence  and  are  setting  the  highest  standards  for  environmental  
practices  in  health  care.    
 
“All  of  our  members  are  committed  to  improving  health  care’s  environmental  performance,  but  
there  is  a  particularly  outstanding  group  of  facilities  setting  the  highest  standards,”  said  Practice  
Greenhealth  Executive  Director  Anna  Gilmore  Hall.  “St.  Francis  Hospital–Eastside,  and  St.  
Francis  Hospital–Downtown,  have  each  introduced  extensive  environmental  strategies  into  
health  care  and  are  committed  to  achieving  further  improvements.  Recipients  of  our  top  award,  
inducted  into  the  Environmental  Leadership  Circle,  they  are  the  best  of  the  best.”  
 
In  addition,  eight  major  health  systems,  including  Advocate  Health  Care,  Oak  Brook,  IL;  Bon  
Secours  Health  System,  Inc.,  Marriotsville,  MD;  Catholic  Healthcare  West,  San  Francisco,  CA;  
Cleveland  Clinic  Health  System,  Cleveland,  OH;  Covenant  Health  Systems,  Tewksbury,  MA;  
Fairview  Health  Services,  Minneapolis,  MN;  Inova  Health  System,  Falls  Church,  VA;  and  
Spectrum  Health,  Grand  Rapids,  MI;  received  Practice  Greenhealth’s  System  for  Change  award.    
 
This  award  recognizes  health  systems  that  are  working  cohesively  to  gather  data,  set  system  
goals,  benchmark,  and  share  successes  in  environmental  performance.    
 
“We  are  very  pleased  to  see  so  many  leading  health  systems  striving  to  improve  their  
environmental  performance,”  stated  Gilmore  Hall  .  “Each  of  our  Environmental  Excellence  
Awards  represents  a  tremendous  effort  on  the  part  of  hospital  staff  to  reduce  the  health  and  
environmental  impacts  associated  with  health  delivery.”    
 
A  total  of  252  awards  were  presented  in  8  categories.  Again  this  year,  through  a  partnership  
with  Trees  for  the  Future,  Practice  Greenhealth  is  honoring  Environmental  Excellence  Awards  
winners  with  100  trees  per  award  planted  in  Tanzania,  a  collective  total  of  more  than  25,000  
trees.  
 
    
A  complete  list  of  Practice  Greenhealth  Environmental  Excellence  Award  winners  can  be    
found  at:  www.practicegreenhealth.org/awards/winners/  
 
About  Practice  Greenhealth    
Practice  Greenhealth  is  the  nation’s  leading  membership  and  networking  organization  for  
institutions  in  the  healthcare  community  that  have  made  a  commitment  to  sustainable,    
eco-­‐friendly  practices.  Members  include  hospitals,  healthcare  systems,  businesses  and  other  
stakeholders  engaged  in  the  greening  of  healthcare  to  improve  the  health  of  patients,  staff    
and  the  environment.  For  more  information  on  Practice  Greenhealth,  visit  
www.practicegreenhealth.org    
 
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