KAPA‘A — The Rotary Club of Kapa‘a last week awarded Wilcox Memorial Hospital as a winner of the Third Annual Green Business Initiative Awards, a news release states. Winners were selected based on their “green” practices in the areas of
KAPA‘A — The Rotary Club of Kapa‘a last week awarded Wilcox Memorial Hospital as a winner of the Third Annual Green Business Initiative Awards, a news release states.
Winners were selected based on their “green” practices in the areas of energy efficiency, recycling/reusing and conserving resources over the past year. Wilcox received the award in the Health/Wellness category. Other winners include: Beachrail Lines, Grand Hyatt Kaua‘i Resort & Spa, Hawaiian Palm Baskets, Island Pure Water Technology, Kaua‘i Habitat for Humanity ReStore, Kaua‘i Kunana Dairy, Kaua‘i Springs Water, RYLO Excavation & Landscaping, Malama Kaua‘i, TNT Steakburgers LLC, and Unlimited Construction.
As Kaua‘i’s leading medical facility since 1938, Wilcox Memorial Hospital strives to ensure that Kaua‘i residents and visitors have access to the best healthcare, the release says. Providing quality healthcare to its patients is of paramount importance to the staff and leadership of Wilcox Memorial Hospital (part of Hawai‘i Pacific Health), but the hospital is also dedicated to improving the health of the environment.
In the last year, Wilcox Memorial Hospital has implemented multiple “green” programs to promote energy conservation, energy efficiency and to reduce waste. To supplement its large-scale initiatives, Wilcox encourages the doctors and staff to play an active role in making the hospital “greener.”
For example, employees at Wilcox do desk recycling with a triad of a rubbish can, a box for recycled paper, and a box for recycled magazines. Environmental Service employees personally remove all aluminum and plastic containers from the facility and bring home to recycle. Other materials such as waste oils are also sent for proper recycling.
August 2008 marked the first electronic waste recycling event for Kaua‘i County. Wilcox took advantage by loading four pickup trucks, a trailer and a van with computers, printers, copy machines and other miscellaneous electronic equipment for recycling; an estimated savings of $12,000 to $14,000. By recycling, employees help to reduce Kaua‘i’s landfill, preserve natural resources, and keep the hospital’s trash disposal costs down.
Recently, Hawai‘i Pacific Health collaborated with the County of Kaua‘i’s Economic Development Office to implement the transit commuter benefit program at Wilcox. Now a number of their employees are riding The Kaua‘i Bus for a small fee. Not only does Wilcox’s commuter benefits program allow employees to save money (thanks to the tax benefits of the program), but it also helps to ease traffic congestion and reduce the amount of carbon dioxide emissions in the air.
Additionally, Wilcox took a groundbreaking step in December 2008 when it became the first hospital in the state to harness the power of the sun to help produce the electricity needed for Wilcox to operate. The project is the second largest of its kind on the island and the third largest in Hawai‘i. Since its completion, the farm has generated a total of 397,198.8 kilowatt-hours. The energy produced will offset approximately 1,100 barrels of oil per year and will keep 670 tons of CO2 out of the atmosphere annually. With the help of the county’s engineers and Kaua’i Island Utility Cooperative, the system is tied directly into the hospital’s electrical distribution system, enabling the hospital to use all of the electricity generated through the solar farm.
These initiatives have resulted in quantifiable cost and energy savings, including the $15,500 that Wilcox saved in disposal costs last year, thanks to the Garden Island Disposal’s free collection of recycling every three weeks. Additionally, employees who participate in the commuter benefits program only pay about $7/month commuting on The Kaua‘i Bus as opposed to the general cost of $15/month.
Wilcox’s green efforts don’t stop here, the release says. It is the dream to have more renewable energy for the hospital using wind generators in the future.
