MCGHI cuts medical waste
by Danielle Wong Moores
Ever wonder what happens to all the disposable surgical gowns, drapes and basins used in operating rooms every day all across the country? You guessed it – every year, millions of pounds of this medical waste end up in landfills or incinerated as biohazardous waste.
But switching from disposable to high-quality, re-sterilized products reduces medical waste and helps protect the environment. “It’s estimated that up to 70 percent of medical waste generated by a hospital’s operating rooms can be eliminated through the use of re-sterilized surgical products,” said Angeline Pratt, MCGHI director of perioperative services.
Last fall, MCG Health System partnered with SRI Surgical, a Food and Drug Administration-regulated company that processes, assembles, sterilizes and delivers all products required for surgery. Every day the company delivers sterile gowns, drapes, towels and basins to the hospital’s operating rooms and picks up used products for reprocessing at one of its 10 processing centers.
“As a community partner, it’s our responsibility to do what we can to help keep our community clean and eliminate waste,” said Ms. Pratt. “We take this responsibility very seriously, and have estimated that on a monthly basis, this initiative alone prevents 3.5 tons of biohazardous products from entering the waste stream. In addition, as of May 2006, this partnership has enabled us to save an estimated $343,000 in supply costs. By re-investing these monies in additional equipment and services, we have been able to positively impact patient care.”
MCG Health System is the only hospital in the Augusta area partnering with SRI Surgical. The company serves 27 hospitals throughout the state of Georgia.