Food Systems - Medxcel

FY17 Environmental Stewardship Program Report

Healthcare Without Waste

Leadership

Integrating sustainability into organizational strategy
Education & Communication

Creating awareness; improving adoption and practices and sharing success stories
Energy

Helping hospitals reduce costs and protect scarce resources
Water

Decreasing the strain on municipal water supplies and reducing energy needed to treat and deliver water
Green Buildings / Operations & Maintenance / Transportation

Green construction, operations and maintenance of healthcare facilities; vehicles; landscaping; and site water management
Safer Chemicals

Reducing exposure to chemicals in order to “first do no harm”
Food Systems

Increasing health and safety in food service while decreasing waste and use of non-therapeutic antibiotics in meat and poultry products
Environmentally Preferred Purchasing

Purchasing products that are durable, efficient and cost-effective, while reducing the hospital’s environmental impact
Waste Management & Reduction

Reducing waste while increasing recycling and donations, safely

Reducing Unnecessary Antibiotic Use in Patient Meals

By changing the food we purchase and eat at hospitals, we can help curb antibiotic overuse. Antibiotic stewardship is no longer just a matter of medication management at Ascension. The Ascension Environmental Stewardship Program, The Resource Group, TouchPoint Support Services, and the Ascension Center of Excellence (COE) for Antimicrobial Stewardship and Infection Prevention have come together to begin to reduce the amount of meat treated with antibiotics served to patients, associates and visitors. Currently, TouchPoint is able to purchase antibiotic free ground turkey and petite turkey roasts for use in Ascension food service. The product list will be expanded as more items become available within required budgets.

Reducing Food Waste and Cost with Imperfectly Delicious Produce

Ascension continues to employ the Imperfectly Delicious Produce (IDP) program to reduce food and water waste. Imperfect fruits and vegetables that might have languished in fields or been sent to composting or a landfill are purchased from growers and distributors in 31 states and Washington D.C. IDP produce is estimated to reduce cost by 20 percent, providing a financial benefit to Ascension hospitals.