ABSTRACT
Hospitals are simultaneously places of healing and producers of substances known to harm the public’s health, particularly in terms of waste management. Healthcare leaders have the potential to help employees and patients improve individual health through clinical processes while improving community health through waste segregation and alternative off-site waste management services. When healthcare leaders speak of waste, they are often referring to inefficiencies in time or resources as opposed to solid waste. Applying Lean methods to process improvement is increasingly popular in healthcare organizations. Parallel efforts within hospitals to reduce tangible waste are emerging, such as solid waste and sanitary sewer effluent.
Wasting less intrinsically means saving more – a combination of waste reduction and prevention strategies is saving millions of dollars annually at healthcare organizations across the United States. Chapter 4 explains why process improvement, when combined with waste management practices, can improve efficiencies and reduce operating costs.
