North York General Hospital Wins National Environmental Award

Toronto, June 19, 2008 — North York General Hospital has been awarded a 2008 Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME) Pollution Prevention Award for the hospital's overall pollution prevention efforts.

"It is a great honour to be chosen for this award," said Bonnie Adamson, President and CEO of North York General Hospital. "We strive to provide compassionate, quality care to patients and their families in a manner that minimizes adverse environmental impacts on human health and our natural environment."

The CCME Pollution Prevention Awards program was established in 1997 to support CCME's emphasis on preventing pollution at the source, rather than cleaning it up or treating it after it has been created. In 2003, CCME established a partnership with the Canadian Centre for Pollution Prevention (C2P2) to present the awards. Up to seven companies or organizations are recognized each year for their overall pollution prevention efforts, innovations and reductions in greenhouse gases.

North York General Hospital won the award because of numerous pollution prevention achievements at the hospital's General Site over the past several years, including:

• A 97% reduction in the quantity of the pollutant nonylphenol ethoxylate (NPE) used in cleaning products such as soaps and floor strippers, discharged to the sewer since 2002 by discontinuing NPE-containing products or substituting them with NPE-free equivalents;
• A 75% reduction in hazardous waste generation, such as preservatives, by recycling used laboratory solvents, saving the hospital $20,500 per year in chemical purchases and disposal fees; and,
• A sharps container recycling program instituted in 2004 to eliminate the use of disposable containers, which annually diverts nearly five tones of used sharps containers from the biomedical waste stream and saves the hospital $15,700 per year.

"Pollution prevention awareness through the efforts of the hospital's Green Team, launched in 2006, has created a 'think green' culture throughout each department of the organization and positioned us as a community leader in environmental planning and action," said Adamson. "In this way we are able to inform hospital visitors and the wider Toronto community of not only North York General Hospital's environmental conservation efforts, but of the environmental and economic value of green practices."

The CCME Pollution Prevention Awards were presented by the Honourable Rob Renner, Alberta's Minister of the Environment, as part of the 12th Canadian Pollution Prevention Roundtable in Edmonton, Alberta on June 11, 2008.

For more information please contact:
Courtney Sorger
Manager, Media Relations
North York General Hospital
Tel. (416) 756-6725

About North York General Hospital:
North York General Hospital, affiliated with the University of Toronto, is one of Canada's leading community teaching hospitals. We offer our culturally diverse community a wide range of acute care, ambulatory and long-term care services across three sites. The hospital embraces health by providing innovative and compassionate care for the whole person throughout all stages of life.