Midland Memorial Hospital Makes Big Strides to Move Toward a More Environmentally Friendly Hospital
Midland Memorial Hospital Makes Big Strides to Move Toward a More Environmentally Friendly Hospital
Midland Memorial Hospital realizes the significant ecological footprint that an organization its size can leave on the environment. That is why MMH is taking steps to reduce its negative impact and lead other businesses in the effort to go ‘green’.
One way that Midland Memorial Hospital is showing its commitment to this effort is by using ‘green’ cleaners and chemicals. In fact, Midland Memorial Hospital was the first facility in the Permian Basin to ‘go green’ in this area of operations. The chemicals and paper products, provided by Spartan Chemical and Empire Paper Company, use fewer environmental resources, are non-toxic and emit no harsh chemical smells, are hypo-allergenic, and come with dispensing units so that the chemicals are easily mixed and always done so correctly, as well as reducing the amount of waste. Midland Memorial Hospital has been using these products since the spring of 2008.
In March of 2008, Midland Memorial Hospital also changed its Linen Policy to reflect the effort to ‘go green’. The newly titled ‘Linen Conservation Policy’ asks staff to change linens on an as needed basis or by the request of the patients or their family members, instead of daily. In no case does the staff at MMH leave soiled, stained, damaged, or unsafe linens in the patient rooms. This satisfies the MMH desire to provide a safe, clean, germ-free environment for our patients, guests, visitors and employees while being conscious of the need to preserve natural resources and be responsible for our community and environment. Through this measure, MMH is reducing the amount of energy used for laundry, the amount of chemicals in our water supply, and use of our community’s scarce water resources.
Conserving water is an important measure for our community as Midland is no stranger to drought and the ravages caused by it. That is why Midland Memorial Hospital is using more drought tolerant landscaping to keep our properties beautiful. Using more desert plants and rocks, instead of grasses and other highly absorptive plants, allows MMH to use less water while still complying with the city of Midland’s landscaping ordinances.
Midland Memorial Hospital has been involved with Keep Midland Beautiful for several years, and together we are working to make Midland Memorial Hospital and the city of Midland more ‘green.’ Every spring and fall, MMH partners with KMB to do a blitz clean-up of the hospital’s campuses. Our volunteers pick up large amounts of trash from our grounds each time, reducing the amount of non-organic materials on our landscape as well as beautifying our campuses. Together we hope to make MMH even more ‘green’ in the years to come.
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