Two Carilion hospitals—Roanoke Memorial and New River Valley Medical Center—have once again been honored for the organization’s efforts toward environmentalism.
The hospitals have received the 2021 Environmental Excellence Award from Practice Greenhealth, a leading force in health care environmental sustainability. It is the fifth year in a row that Memorial has won national recognition and the third consecutive year for Carilion New River Valley.
“We’re grateful to the many caregivers, frontline workers and administrators who are committed to this work and bring innovation, ingenuity, and adaptability to help us dramatically improve our footprint,” says Sara Wohlford, Efficiency & Sustainability manager. “This is truly a system effort, and it’s so exciting to see initiative at the grass-roots level.”
The goal in medical sustainability “
means looking at how operations affect the health and safety of environment as well as the health of patients, staff, visitors and the local community,” according to a press release. “Strategies to address sustainability at Carilion include minimizing and recycling waste, lowering energy and water consumption and sourcing food locally when we can.”
Carilion has accomplished the following recently:
- Carilion Clinic New River Valley Medical Center became home to a bee apiary. The apiary consists of two hives and a bear fence but has the potential to grow to three hives in the coming year. Tours of the apiary are available.
- A Native Planting Day on the grounds of Roanoke Memorial Hospital is an event emphasizing wildlife populations and their dependence on native plants to survive.
- The Carilion Clinic’s drug donation program allows people to donate unused and unopened medications to help those who are in need. It is designed to offer an affordable, onsite option for patients that are otherwise financially unable to afford prescription medications. There is the added benefits of reducing medication waste as well as reducing the risk of improper prescription disposal which can lead to drugs leaching into local water systems.
About the Writer:
Dan Smith is an award-winning Roanoke-based writer/author/photographer and a member of the Virginia Communications Hall of Fame (Class of 2010). His blog, fromtheeditr.com, is widely read and he has authored seven books, including the novel CLOG! He is founding editor of a Roanoke-based business magazine and a former Virginia Small Business Journalist of the Year (2005).
