UF HEALTH SHANDS WINS TWO NATIONAL AWARDS FOR ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY
The hospital has been recognized for environmental initiatives four years running

UF Health Shands was recently honored with two Environmental Excellence Awards from Practice Greenhealth, the nation’s leading organization dedicated to environmental sustainability in health care. These awards recognize UF Health Shands for its achievements and innovation in health care sustainability.
The Practice Greenhealth Emerald Award recognizes outstanding hospitals from within its Partner for Change applicants. This competitive award recognizes the top 20% of applicants and is focused on advanced sustainability programs and exemplary scores in a range of categories.
UF Health Shands also received the Practice Greenhealth Greening the Operating Room Award, which honors facilities that have made substantial progress in reducing the impact of the surgical environment.
“These awards demonstrate UF Health Shands’ commitment to sustainability efforts,” said Lauren Berkow, MD, FASA, a professor of anesthesiology in the UF College of Medicine and chief of the division of Neuroanesthesia and co-chair of the UF Health Shands Sustainability Committee. “They also represent the hard work the Sustainability Committee members put into gathering the data to complete the very rigorous application process for this recognition.”
Berkow said this is the fourth year in a row UF Health Shands has been recognized by Practice Greenhealth with its Environmental Excellence Awards. The hospital has received the Greening the Operating Room award three out of the four years it has been given out.
“These two Practice Greenhealth awards represent an incredible effort in UF Health’s sustainability and recycling efforts. Many departments are jointly responsible for this effort,” said Tedd Comerford, associate vice president of Supply Chain Services and Materials Management and co-chair of the Sustainability Committee. “The Emerald Award is a bonus award this year for UF Health Shands, indicating that we are in the top 20% of hospitals for our sustainability efforts.”
Comerford said UF Health is also in the 89th percentile for recycling efforts for academic medical centers, according to Practice Greenhealth statistics.
“In a shifting health care landscape, a focus on sustainability can help build resilience while better protecting the health of patients and the community,” said Gary Cohen, Practice Greenhealth founder. “UF Health Shands demonstrates the kind of leadership, innovation and performance that can drive the entire health sector toward more environmentally responsible practices.”
The Practice Greenhealth Environmental Excellence Awards recognize health care facilities that continuously improve upon programs to address sustainable operations, reduce and recycle waste, lower energy and water use, source more sustainable products and more.