GW Medical Faculty Associates First Medical Facility in D.C. To Implement Greening the Cleaning(R)
WASHINGTON, Jan. 30 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The George Washington University Medical Faculty Associates (MFA), joining with The Deirdre Imus Environmental Center for Pediatric Oncology(r) at Hackensack University Medical Center, is pleased to announce its Greening the Cleaning initiative, eliminating to the greatest extent possible all cleaning agents containing hazardous ingredients in cleaning its facility. By replacing these cleaning agents with environmentally responsible products that utilize natural or naturally-derived ingredients, the MFA is committed to providing a safer and healthier environment for its patients, its staff and its visitors. Following on the heels of its successful implementation of an Electronic Health Record (EHR) system, the MFA places the same commitment that moved it to the forefront of adapting technology to improve patient care to its commitment to create an environmentally-friendly clinical space. One hundred percent of all profits from sales of the institutional Greening the Cleaning(r) products go to educational programs and research to identify, control and ultimately prevent exposures to environmental factors that may cause adult, and especially pediatric, cancer, as well as other health problems with our children.
“We are proud that The George Washington Medical Faculty Associates is leading the way among medical facilities in the Washington, D.C., area in taking this simple but important step to improve air quality. It makes common sense to eliminate where possible any exposure that is potentially toxic and we know that cleaning products can be very harmful and may contain carcinogens, neurotoxins and teratogens. We have been successful at the Deirdre Imus Environmental Center for Pediatric Oncology(r) implementing our Greening the Cleaning(r) program in healthcare facilities. We’ve proven that healthcare providers can easily implement non-toxic cleaning products while saving them money and they also work as well if not better than the toxic alternative,” said Deirdre Imus, president and founder of the Deirdre Imus Environmental Center for Pediatric Oncology.
Working with its facilities maintenance staff to adopt the new standards and procedures, the MFA is beginning to realize the benefits. The cleaning standards are now about protecting the environment both internally to its facility and externally to its community. “Always pushing to be at the forefront of healthcare — first with technology, now with our environmental efforts, this makes the MFA a leader in not only patient services but also a leader in caring for our patients, their friends and families, and for the environment in which they are treated,” said Stephen L. Badger, CEO of the MFA.
Background
The GW Medical Faculty Associates (MFA) is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) physician group practice corporation comprising the academic clinical faculty for The George Washington University Medical Center. In its sixth year of existence, the MFA has grown to include over 325 physicians providing care in 41 medical and surgical sub-specialties. Through its development and implementation of an Electronic Health Record (EHR) system, the MFA is improving patient care, enhancing medical education and scientific research, and maximizing business efficiencies.
The Deirdre Imus Environmental Center for Pediatric Oncology(r) at Hackensack University Medical Center, a not-for-profit corporation. The Environmental Center represents one of the first hospital-based programs whose specific mission is to identify, control and ultimately prevent exposures to environmental factors that may cause adult, and especially pediatric, cancer, as well as other health problems with our children.
CONTACT: David Garofalo of George Washington University Medical Faculty Associates, +1-202-741-3381, dgarofalo@mfa.gwu.edu
George Washington University Medical Faculty Associates
CONTACT: David Garofalo of George Washington University Medical FacultyAssociates, +1-202-741-3381, dgarofalo@mfa.gwu.edu