Great River Health Receives Environmental Excellence Award for Exceptional Commitment to Healthcare Sustainability

WEST BURLINGTON, IA. – Great River Health announced it has received the Environmental Excellence Award from Stryker’s Sustainability Solutions. This designation is reserved for select hospitals demonstrating outstanding leadership in sustainability and overall hospital quality through single-use device (SUD) reprocessing.

In 2023, Great River Health’s reprocessing program successfully diverted 5,630 pounds of medical waste from landfills and reduced its supply costs by $105,000.

“Stryker is pleased to honor Great River Health’s continued dedication to achieving both environmental and financial sustainability,” said Natalie Ward, Vice President/General Manager of Stryker’s Sustainability Solutions. “With a heightened focus on improving value in today’s healthcare environment, Great River Health leads by example with their commitment to sustainability initiatives that reduce costs and optimize resources to support quality care.”

Leading hospitals nationwide are continuing to pursue initiatives to reduce the environmental footprint of healthcare delivery. Among these initiatives, SUD reprocessing stands out as an environmental practice that not only dramatically reduces the amount of medical waste, but at the same time frees significant resources for the hospital – all without capital investment.

Great River Health is in the distinguished company of other leading hospitals implementing reprocessing programs. Reprocessing programs are currently employed by nearly all the U.S. News & World Report “Honor Roll” hospitals.