CHARLOTTE, N.C., May 18, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Premier, Inc. (Nasdaq:PINC) has been recognized for environmental excellence by Practice Greenhealth, a leading healthcare community driving environmental stewardship and sustainable practices.
Premier received the Champion for Change Award for the 13th year in a row for improving its green practices, as well as helping its members and partners green their organizations.
"We're thrilled to be recognized for keeping our workplace and practices environmentally sound," said Gina Pugliese, RN, MS, vice president of Premier and director of the Premier Safety Institute®. "We strive to offer safer, greener products and services to our members, while improving our environmental footprint."
Premier received the national award for its GreenHealthy® environmental leadership program, in collaboration with alliance member hospitals and health systems to promote sustainable healthcare practices. For example, over the past year Premier:
- Recycled or reused 75 percent of solid waste from corporate facilities and recycled more than five tons of computers and electronic equipment.
- Provided a latex-free product catalog for members that contains more than 132,000 latex-free items in 4,000 product categories.
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Offered more than 250 contracts with environmentally preferable products and services, including:
- Hormone and steroid-free chicken products packaged with recycled materials.
- Intravenous delivery and hemodynamic monitoring products without polyvinyl chloride (PVC) or di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP).
- Baby products free of paraben, sulfate, fragrance and other potentially harmful contaminants such as formaldehyde and 1,4 dioxane.
- Floor care equipment, services and products that have third-party certification, including Green Seal/EcoLogo, Green Label Carpet and Rug Institute.
More than 120 Premier member hospitals and health systems also won awards from Practice Greenhealth for environmental excellence.
Premier offers healthcare energy reduction and efficiency products from contracted suppliers, as well as a comprehensive website that includes best practices on how to build and sustain a green healthcare environment by reducing carbon footprints, becoming energy efficient and increasing the use of renewable energy sources.
In addition, Premier is a supporting partner for the Healthier Hospitals Initiative, a national campaign to improve sustainability in the healthcare sector. Initiative goals include energy reduction along with safer chemicals, environmentally preferable purchasing and waste reduction.
Publicly-accessible resources on patient, worker and green issues in healthcare are available on the Premier Safety Institute website.
About Practice Greenhealth
Practice Greenhealth is the nation's leading health care community that empowers its members to increase their efficiencies and environmental stewardship while improving patient safety and care through tools, best practices and knowledge. To learn more about Practice Greenhealth visit www.practicegreenhealth.org.
About Premier, Inc.
Premier, Inc. (Nasdaq:PINC) is a leading healthcare improvement company, uniting an alliance of approximately 3,400 U.S. hospitals and 110,000 other providers to transform healthcare. With integrated data and analytics, collaboratives, supply chain solutions, and advisory and other services, Premier enables better care and outcomes at a lower cost. Premier, a Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award recipient, plays a critical role in the rapidly evolving healthcare industry, collaborating with members to co-develop long-term innovations that reinvent and improve the way care is delivered to patients nationwide. Headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., Premier is passionate about transforming American healthcare. Please visit Premier's news and investor sites on www.premierinc.com; as well as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram, Foursquare and Premier's blog for more information about the company.
CONTACT: Morgan Bridges-Guthrie, Premier, Inc., 704.816.4152; Morgan_Bridges@PremierInc.com