Newswise — For the second year in a row, LifeBridge Health received a Trailblazer Award for environmental excellence. The award, given by Maryland Hospitals for a Healthy Environment (MD H2E), honors the organization’s work in acquiring grant funding from Baltimore Gas and Electric to replace fluorescent lights with LED lamps and providing assistance to staff at several other Maryland hospitals in an effort to duplicate energy successes.

The Trailblazer Award winners are models for other hospitals in reducing their environmental footprint and creating tangible measures of success. LifeBridge Health has led the charge in environmental initiatives in the Baltimore region, as it is the only health system in the region that is composting at all facilities, and using the compost in its landscaping. Additionally, LifeBridge Health has reduced its red bag waste by 50 percent since 2002.

Peter Arn, vice president of Capital Improvements and Campus Services for LifeBridge Health, says LifeBridge Health is committed to creating a healthy and sustainable hospital system.

"Our collaboration with employees and community members in developing environmentally-friendly policies has resulted in this prestigious award," he says. "We will continue to be a trailblazer in 'going green.'"

The LED Replacement project involved replacing 9,200 lamps in non-patient care areas at Sinai Hospital, Northwest Hospital, Levindale Hebrew Geriatric Center and Hospital, Courtland Gardens Nursing & Rehabilitation Center, and LifeBridge Health & Fitness. The replacements will result in a savings of $132,452.95 in electrical costs per year and $662,264.75 over the lifetime of the LED bulbs. This project was made possible through the BGE Smart EnergySavers Program, which awarded LifeBridge Health $370,000.

LifeBridge Health is one of the largest, most comprehensive providers of health services in the Northwest Baltimore area. It includes Sinai Hospital, Northwest Hospital, Levindale Hebrew Geriatric Center and Hospital, Courtland Gardens Nursing & Rehabilitation Center, and related subsidiaries and affiliates. For more information, visit www.lifebridgehealth.org.

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