Our Environmental Commitment

History of our Green Health Care Program

The modern history of Fletcher Allen's green health care program starts in 1989 when Hollie Shaner-McRae, a nurse on the overnight shift, began a small project to implement recycling on her unit. (Read a profile of Hollie Shaner-McRae.) Participation by colleagues and the housekeeping staff grew, with support from leadership soon to follow.  As the recycling program expanded and other green practices were adopted, Fletcher Allen found itself at the forefront of environmentally-friendly health care organizations.  A prestigious Environmental Leadership Award from the Environmental Protection Agency, media coverage and other recognition encouraged employees and leaders to examine all aspects of our clinical practices and other operations with environmental stewardship in mind. 

Today, leaders from our operations, nutrition and facilities departments regularly speak at national conferences to share our experiences and provide guidance on concrete steps every health care organization can take to practice greener health care.  In 2008, Fletcher Allen issued a mission statement to detail its environmental goals and promises which can be found here.

Employee Leadership

One key to our ongoing success is the active participation of hundreds of employees from across the organization who have embraced our green mission. These include: 

• An employee-driven Green Team meets regularly to gather ideas and set goals, and then works with all departments to achieve them.
• A higher-level Sustainability Council works in conjunction with the Green Team and ultimately sets organizational priorities and funds projects accordingly.

Environmental Leadership Award

Practice Greenhealth "Leadership Circle Award"
For several years, Fletcher Allen has been recognized as a leader in green health care by Practice Greenhealth, the leading national association focused on improving environmental practices in health care. We're proud to be included in a very select group among 800 hospitals who are considered role models in this area. 

Healthcare Food Service Management "Partner in Leadership Award"
We have also received the Partner in Leadership Award from the Healthcare Food Service Management Association for the collaboration we've helped build between food service operators and administrators to establish standards of excellence.

View a full list of Fletcher Allen Awards and Accolades

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