Providence Kodiak Island Medical Center has been recognized with a national award for sustainability. The medical facility was one of 99 winners of the Partner Recognition Award from the organization Project Greenhealth. Recipients “have a commitment to environmental improvements and have achieved progress” in implementing more sustainable practices at their facilities, according to the organization’s website.
Darcy Moxon is Providence’s sustainability program manager for Alaska.
“I think it really just shows a commitment that we are serious about this being a part of our mission, and this being work that we feel is so important. It’s really for our community because community health and environmental stewardship are related,” said Moxon.
Moxon said Providence’s hospital in Kodiak has been giving lightly used items to the community– including bed linens, hospital beds and unused medical devices – instead of throwing them away.
Food scraps are sent to local farmers for compost, according to Moxon, and unused food is donated to local food banks. The facility has also been improving its recycling program. Moxon says Kodiak – being an island – is a natural fit for the environmental initiatives.
“And so that culture of reuse and getting the maximum life out of something without throwing it away is really strong in Kodiak,” she said.
This is the first year the Providence medical campus in Kodiak has been recognized for its efforts toward sustainability.
Providence Alaska Medical Center in Anchorage also won Project Greenhealth’s Partner for Change Award, according to a Providence press release.
Providence’s healthcare system announced in 2020 a goal of becoming carbon negative by 2030, and reducing waste by 50% across all its facilities.