Innovative services help healthcare facilities lower costs and reduce environmental impact of operations
Chicago, April 6, 2010 – The American Hospital Association (AHA) today announced it has awarded an endorsement to WM Healthcare Solutions, Inc., a subsidiary of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE: WM), for integrated environmental services for healthcare. AHA Solutions, Inc., a subsidiary of the AHA, awards endorsements to organizations that offer products and services to assist member hospitals and healthcare organizations achieve organizational excellence.
WM Healthcare Solutions provides a comprehensive suite of operational and consulting services to meet the needs of hospitals and medical facilities in reducing the amount of waste they create and complying with environmental regulations. In addition to on-site waste and operational assessments, WM Healthcare Solutions can manage all of the healthcare industry’s waste streams, including recyclables, medical and pharmaceutical waste, confidential documents, universal and hazardous waste, construction and demolition materials and more.
“Hospitals and other medical facilities need an integrated waste services program to help reduce costs, increase operational efficiencies, and protect workers and the environment,” said Anthony Burke, President and CEO, AHA Solutions, Inc. “WM Healthcare Solutions’ integrated environmental services for healthcare help the healthcare industry create less waste and more intelligently manage what remains.”
The AHA endorsed WM Healthcare Solutions’ integrated environmental services for healthcare after an extensive evaluation process, ensuring the services provided environmental leadership and expertise to protect workers and the environment from potentially harmful compounds. The AHA found WM Healthcare Solutions to provide an exceptional range of services for both large and small facilities.
“We are proud the AHA has recognized the importance of lifecycle materials management services in the healthcare sector and our leadership in the field,” said Ron Pierce, president of WM Healthcare Solutions. “There is a tremendous opportunity, and profound responsibility, to manage and reduce waste materials post consumption by proper segregation, beneficial reuse and recycling, while creating the highest possible benefit of improved compliance and lessening cost and environmental impact. Our vast waste and recycling infrastructure and industry expertise enable us to develop waste and recycling solutions for healthcare facilities that significantly reduce waste as well as help manage the economic, operational, social and environmental impacts.”
WM Healthcare Solutions’ growing customer base includes more than 1,000 hospitals.
About the AHA
The American Hospital Association (AHA) is a not-for-profit association of health care provider organizations and individuals committed to the health improvement of their communities. The AHA is the national advocate for its members, which includes nearly 5,000 hospitals and health care systems, networks, and other providers of care, and 37,000 individuals. Founded in 1898, the AHA provides education for health care leaders and is a source of information on health care issues and trends. For more information, visit www.aha.org.
About AHA Solutions
AHA Solutions, Inc. is a resource to hospitals pursuing operational excellence. As an American Hospital Association (AHA) member service, AHA Solutions collaborates with hospital leaders and market consultants to conduct product due diligence and identify solutions to hospital challenges in the areas of finance, human resources, patient flow and technology. AHA Solutions provides related marketplace analytics and education to support product decision-making. As a subsidiary of the AHA, the organization convenes people with like interests for knowledge sharing centered on timely information and research. AHA Solutions is proud to reinvest its profits in the AHA mission: creating healthier communities. For more information, contact AHA Solutions at (800) 242-4677 or visit www.aha-solutions.org.
About Waste Management and WM Healthcare Solutions
Waste Management, Inc., based in Houston, Texas, is the leading provider of comprehensive waste management services in North America. Through its subsidiaries, the company provides collection, transfer, recycling and resource recovery, and disposal services. It is also a leading developer, operator and owner of waste-to-energy and landfill gas-to-energy facilities in the United States. The company’s customers include residential, commercial, industrial, and municipal customers throughout North America. To learn more information about Waste Management, visit www.wm.com or www.thinkgreen.com.
WM Healthcare Solutions, Inc. (WMHS) is a subsidiary of Waste Management, Inc. that provides a complete range of sustainable and cost-effective managed waste and environmental solutions specifically designed for the healthcare industry. WMHS aims to be the single source provider of operational and consulting services required to handle the healthcare industry’s complex waste streams from compliance, safety, and risk assessment to in-house operational logistics, market assessment, and collection and processing for a variety of waste streams. To learn more information about WM Healthcare Solutions, visit www.healthcare.wm.com.
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Contact: Matthew Fenwick
American Hospital Association
(312) 422-2820
mfenwick@aha.org
Carrie Griffiths
WM Healthcare Solutions
(603) 929-3350
cgriffiths@wm.com
