Outpatient Surgery Magazine, providing current information on Surgical Services, Surgical Facility Administration, Outpatient Surgery News and Trends, OR Excellence and more.
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1 0 2 O U T P A T I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E O N L I N E | S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 5 Staff at the TRIA Orthopaedic Center in Bloomington, Minn., take being eco-friendly seriously. "Staff are very much committed to environmental stewardship," says Lori Groven, RN, BSN, MSPHN, CIC, an infection preven- tionist at the center. "They're the ones who pushed for a green committee." That committee has been in charge of several programs aimed at helping their facility and community go green. One of those initiatives was to tackle blue wrap waste, says Ms. Groven, who serves as chair of the green committee. The facility first contacted a company that special- izes in recycling the wrap, says Ms. Groven. But because that program takes some time to get up and running — and the surgical staff wanted ways to immediately reduce disposal — they turned to an out-of-the-box idea. "Our sports outreach manager volunteers in Haiti, and told us that they would benefit from having the blue wrap included in their birthing kits, since typically the baby and surgical supplies are just laid on a dirt floor," says Ms. Groven. "So we now collect it, and then she takes it with her when she volunteers there." The committee also works to engage staff and the community by hosting several green events throughout the year. One of those includes an annual park cleanup, where the committee organizes for approximately 40 staff members and their family to come out and beautify a local park one weekend. So far, Ms. Groven says the event has been a major success. "It's become really fun," she says. Part of that fun is attributed to the cool swag volunteers earn, she says. Each year, the committee hands out T-shirts that are made from recycled soda bottles. A staff member at T R I A O R T H O P E D I C C E N T E R Encouraging Others to Go Green z EARTH DAY Staff at TRIA Orthopaedic Center organized a Green Fair on Earth Day to teach the community about sustainable living. Lori Groven, RN, BSN, MSPHN O R E X C E L L E N C E AWA R D S O R E X C E L L E N C E AWA R D S