Metro Health Hospital, the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality and the Michigan Health & Hospital Association are sponsoring the state's first "green" conference for health care providers.
The Green Michigan Healthcare Conference will feature a day of presentations and roundtables on sustainable business practices, climate change, energy consumption and waste management. The Sept. 25 conference, which will be held 8 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. at Metro Health, is open to professionals in the health-services sector as well as health-care industry engineers and facilities managers.
Representatives from the MDEQ, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, hospital administrators and county emergency professionals will lead roundtable discussions on a variety of topics, including:
- Improving energy performance
- Sustainability, climate change and hospitals
- Waste management strategies for hazardous waste
- Practicing green health care
"Metro Health's staff and partners are delighted to host this important conference and be involved in conversations about reducing energy use, material waste and environmental impact," said John Ebers, Metro Health's sustainable business officer. "As an organization, we are committed to incorporating sustainable business practices into health care. We feel that this conference will be an excellent first step in bringing together key practitioners from across the state to explore pertinent issues facing our industry and share best practices."
Metro Health, which is located at 5900 Byron Center Ave. SW, is the first full-service hospital in the region to earn Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED, certification. The hospital and its 12 neighborhood outpatient clients have received numerous awards for its green practices, including the national Partner for Change award from PracticeGreenhealth.
The cost to attend the Green Michigan Healthcare Conference is $30. To register, call 800.662.9278 or go online to www.deq.state.mi.us/eforms/greenhealthcareregistration.html.