NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst Celebrates Earth Month with Series of “Green” Events

NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst Celebrates Earth Month with Series of "Green" Events

Apr 29, 2024

In honor of International Earth Month, NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst hosted a series of activities in April to highlight the hospital's commitment to energy conservation and environmental stewardship. These included community outreach activities, a virtual and in-person conference called "Decarb the OR" on greening operating rooms and reducing medical waste, and an Earth Day celebration featuring a plant-based cooking demo and a presentation by ConEdison on the impact of climate change and how consumers can reduce energy consumption.

"We are intensely committed to making sure NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst reduces our carbon footprint and incorporates energy conservation, recycling and eliminating unnecessary waste into our everyday operations," said NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst CEODr. Helen Arteaga-Landaverde. "We realize that caring for our patients also means caring for the health and well-being of our environment and our planet."

In 2023, NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst formed a Sustainability Committee (aka "Elmhurst's Green Team"), a group made up of employees from a wide spectrum of clinical and non-clinical departments, to ensure that the hospital continues to improve its environmental policies as it plans for future growth. In addition, the hospital is working on the following initiatives to green the facility:

• Adding additional recycling bins-The hospital is now using open-top container bins in order to make recycling more accessible and will be posting signage throughout the facility to educate staff, patients, and visitors on the benefits of the new bins.

• Installing solar panels-In 2023, the hospital finished the installation of new solar panels on the roof of its Community Medical Center on 41^st Avenue and 80^th Street.

• Installation of more energy efficient LED lighting- Current fluorescent lights are being replaced with more efficient LED lighting on the first and second floors of the hospital's main building, with additional installation areas planned in the coming months.

• Bottle fill stations-To reduce the usage of plastic water bottles, the hospital will be installing bottle fill stations on patient floors and in conference room spaces.

• Greening capital projects-The hospital's Facilities Management team is collaborating with a landscape architect to evaluate the facility campus and identify areas for developing green spaces for staff, and incorporating potential green roofs and/or water-efficient designs for the hospital's buildings.

For more information on NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst, please call 718-334-4000 or visit us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ElmhurstHosp.

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MediaContact:Atiya Butler, NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst, 917-319-5167

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About NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst
NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst, part of the NYC Health + Hospitals health care system, is the major tertiary care provider in the borough of Queens. The 545-bed hospital is a Level 1 Trauma Center, an Emergency Heart Care Station, a Thrombectomy Capable Stroke Receiving Center, a Sexual Assault Response Team (SART) Center of Excellence and a 911-Receiving Hospital. It is a premiere health care organization for several specialties, including surgery, cardiology, women's health, pediatrics, rehabilitation medicine, renal services, and mental health services. Last year, the hospital received close to 700,000 ambulatory care visits and over 130,000 emergency room visits. Elmhurst has been named as a "Best Regional Hospital" and nationally-ranked by US News and World Report in key areas, including Heart Failure, Heart Attack, Stroke, Hip Fracture, Kidney Failure, Orthopedics, Pneumonia, and COPD. Stay connected on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ElmhurstHosp.

About NYC Health + Hospitals
NYC Health + Hospitals is the largest public health care system in the nation, serving more than a million New Yorkers annually in more than 70 patient care locations across the city's five boroughs. A robust network of outpatient, neighborhood-based primary and specialty care centers anchors care coordination with the system's trauma centers, nursing homes, post-acute care centers, home care agency, and MetroPlus health plan-all supported by 11 essential hospitals. Its diverse workforce of more than 43,000 employees is uniquely focused on empowering New Yorkers, without exception, to live the healthiest life possible. For more information, visit www.nychealthandhospitals.org and stay connected on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.

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