GBGH taking steps to reduce environmental footprint

Green Team has overseen various initiatives since relaunching last fall

Angie Saini, left, and Angela Puddicombe, co-chairs of the Georgian Bay General Hospital Green Team, are shown with the new electric vehicle charging station in the main parking lot at the hospital.Supplied photo

NEWS RELEASE
GEORGIAN BAY GENERAL HOSPITAL
*************************
In September of 2022, Georgian Bay General Hospital (GBGH) relaunched their Green Team.

This group of staff and professional staff from across the hospital work together to find more sustainable and environmentally friendly alternatives to support day-to-day operations at GBGH.

The following are a few of the environmentally friendly and sustainable initiatives the group has undertaken since their relaunch last fall:

LED light switchover — the GBGH facilities team has continued work on changing lights around the hospital to LED lights. The cafeteria, for example, has been switched to all LED lights to conserve and reduce energy use.
Electric vehicle charging stations — in the fall of 2022 the GBGH Green Team installed electric vehicle charging stations in the main hospital parking lot. Three dual-port, Level 2 electric vehicle charging stations have been available since December 2022. This initiative was partially funded through a grant from the federal government’s Zero Emission Vehicle Infrastructure Program. This program provides grants of 50 per cent of the total cost of the installation of the chargers.
Compost program — later this spring GBGH will add composting to its garbage collection program to help reduce waste. Additionally, the hospital will move to a communal garbage, composting and recycling program (instead of individual bins in offices), with new bins and labelling to make it easy for staff and visitors to sort waste, compost and recycling.
Printer labels — GBGH recently changed the process for printing patient labels and bracelets. The new system allows staff to customize the number of labels to help reduce waste, and make better use of all supplies.

“We are very proud of our Green Team and all of the initiatives they have championed so far,” says Angela Puddicombe, facilities supervisor and co-chair of the GBGH Green Team. “Our group is committed to raising awareness about how we can reduce the environmental impact through many areas of hospital operations.”

On April 21, GBGH staff will also participate in an Earth Day clean-up of the GBGH campus.

*************************