Stryker Sustainability Initiative, Surgical Suites

Project completed as part of the South Health Campus, Alberta Health Services Green Team Competition, 2024

Team members

• Michelle Shand (Program Manager - Surgical Services)
• Rachel Taylor (Program Manager - ICU/CCU, Respiratory Services, Pulmonary Diagnostics and Bronchoscopy Suite)
• Ermin Sabic (Environmental Services Manager)
• Mark Drescher (Site Services Supervisor - CPSM Support Services)
• Simon Robinson (Clinical Nurse Educator - Surgical Suites & Minor Surgery Clinic).
• Jelena Poprzen (Clinical Quality Improvement Consultant)
• Pedro Reis (Surgery Sustainability Lead)

Issue

Single use medical equipment contributes significantly to costs and carbon emissions right from procurement to waste disposal. These types of items are used in all areas of acute care and in the operating rooms. At the SHC alone we send over 5000 single use compression stockings to the landfill every year. Within Calgary three adult sites have implemented the Sustainability Solutions Program through Stryker. The goal at SHC is to join this initiative to be in alignment with our partner sites and to better support our planet.

The Stryker Medical Equipment Remanufacturing Program, known as the Sustainability Solutions

program, focuses on the collection, and reprocessing, of medical devices to reduce waste, extend item lifecycle and lower healthcare costs. For organizations who send back the devices for reprocessing, savings can be made in waste disposal costs and carbon emissions. For organizations who buy reprocessed items, they save money and carbon emissions related to manufacturing and procurement of devices.

Intervention

Inpatient units, surgical areas and the emergency department were asked to participate. Those that had the bandwidth to join this initiative were oriented to the program.

The Stryker recycling program was initially launched at Rockyview General Hospital (RGH), and the team at South Health Campus (SHC) adapted it to fit their site-specific needs. After meeting with RGH’s site champion and Stryker representatives, SHC collaborated with the supply manager and environmental services to develop a collection process. Unit champions were identified, and hampers and bins were distributed, with a collection schedule set for every two weeks. Education materials were provided to staff. All materials were provided by Stryker at no cost, and since the program's launch in May 2024, additional units have expressed interest in joining.

Outcomes

Patient outcomes:

No impact on patient care.

Environmental sustainability:

Sending items back to Stryker creates a small increase of 13.17 kgCO2e per year. However, the project will result in 28,140 kg of waste diverted annually from the landfill/incineration. Diverting waste from landfill or incineration is environmentally beneficial because it conserves natural resources and supports the reuse and recycling of materials, contributing to a more sustainable product life cycle. 

While this is an increase in emissions to SHC, savings will be reflected in the purchasing of remanufactured items from other hospitals which could not happen without SHC/AHS and others engaging in the return scheme. Based on the volume of items we are returning, we will save 3,431 kgCO2e.

Economic sustainability:

The projected annual savings from diversion from the waste streams: general (landfill) waste and incineration are $2,502 CAD based on the first month's waste diversion data provided by Stryker. These savings will increase as additional units join the initiative.

Social sustainability:

Preliminary staff survey results after two weeks, identified that the program has been positively received with no change or minimal increase in their workload (which was expected due to the nature of the change). 80% of respondents agreed that participation in the program enables them to make a difference in protecting the environment. Staff have asked that more items be added to the program and suggested additional environmentally focused changes they would like to see in their workplace

Key learning point

The main driver for success of the program is staff motivation to do their part and make sustainable choices at workplace settings. The program also sparked an interest in suggesting further sustainability ideas. The comments in the survey indicated that there is an appetite from staff to include more items in the recycling program. Further increasing staff awareness of the impact that healthcare delivery has on the environment and providing opportunities to staff to “do something” about it is the first step in creating more sustainable processes.