Central Coast Hospitals Receive Practice Greenhealth Partner for Change Award

Marian Regional Medical Center (MRMC) and Arroyo Grande Community Hospital (AGCH), both Dignity Health Central Coast hospitals in a network which also includes French Hospital Medical Center (FHMC), are proud to announce they have been honored for the first time with the 2015 "Greenhealth Partner for Change Award" by Practice Greenhealth. MRMC and AGCH received the award in Portland, Oregon on May 14th.

Practice Greenhealth, the nation’s leading membership and network organization in health care, is committed to sustainability principles and practices to protect patient, staff, community and environmental health.  This award honors Dignity Health Central Coast’s dedication to the community and global health.  MRMC and AGCH demonstrate this dedication in ways including: reporting all gas emissions, improved utility consumption, and expansion of multiple environmental programs, such as the co-generation energy, green purchasing, recycling and toxic elimination programs.  In addition, Dignity Health Central Coast continues to provide optimized patient care and employee and patient safety, minimizing environmental impact. MRMC and AGCH are among five Dignity Health hospitals to receive the Partner for Change Award. 

The Greenhealth Partner for Change Award was given in part due to the groundbreaking co-generation energy plant at MRMC, which was created in 2008 and is currently being expanded.  The co-generation energy plant uses the gas byproduct from decomposed landfill waste to generate clean electrical energy.  MRMC is now one of a limited handful of healthcare facilities in the nation to be powered by co-generated energy.

This energy plant is estimated to produce an annual electrical cost savings of nearly $350,000, and provides about 50 percent of the hospital’s power. In the coming months, MRMC’s energy plant will be expanded to provide about 90 percent of the hospital’s electricity.

“We are proud to have achieved this award after such an intense focus on improving our environmental impact for a number of years, and we are proud to be recognized for these efforts,” says Dennis Daniel, MRMC Director of Plant Operations and BioMed Security. 

The Greenhealth Partner for Change Award reinforces the active role MRMC and AGCH are committed to sustaining in helping our environment.  All Dignity Health facilities share an obligation to supporting the community and the environment. Through current and future sustainability initiatives, Dignity Health continues to measure, manage and report its collective impact on the environment, ensuring the most positive impact possible. 

Dignity Health Central Coast

Dignity Health Central Coast is comprised of five hospitals, all recognized for their quality of care, safety and service, primary care offices, premier ambulatory surgery centers, technologically advanced imaging centers, outpatient services and comprehensive home health services. Hospitals in the Dignity Health Central Coast region include Arroyo Grande Community Hospital in Arroyo Grande, French Hospital Medical Center in San Luis Obispo, Marian Regional Medical Center in Santa Maria, St. John’s Pleasant Valley Hospital in Camarillo and St. John’s Regional Medical Center in Oxnard. Each hospital is supported by an active philanthropic Foundation to provide additional funding to support new programs and services, as well as to advance the community’s access to health care.