Lebanon, N.H.-based Dartmouth-Hitchcock; San Francisco-based Dignity Health; La Crosse, Wis.-based Gundersen Health System; and Boston-based Partners HealthCare have collaborated with Health Care Without Harm and Practice Greenhealth to create a new marketplace for healthy and environmentally safe products.
The announcement was made during a teleconference Tuesday morning.
The goal of the marketplace, called Greenhealth Exchange, is to accelerate the purchase and use of low-toxicity, low-carbon products by making such items easier to access and less expensive to purchase.
"Greenhealth Exchange will enable more hospitals to abandon materials that are potentially harmful to the planet and public health in exchange for safer alternatives," said Gary Cohen, president and founder of Health Care Without Harm and Practice Greenhealth. "We need to detox our economy in order to address our nation's chronic disease burden and healthcare is perfectly positioned to lead the way toward that healthier future."
All together, the four healthcare systems that have helped found the effort include 54 hospitals, more than 11,000 beds, $21.2 billion in annual revenues and more than $4 billion in purchasing power.
"What we buy matters to our patients, to our staff and to the natural resources that our great-grandchildren will depend on," said Dartmouth-Hitchcock Vice President of Supply Chain Curtis Lancaster. "We are committed to achieving the healthiest population possible for generations to come. Investing in Greenhealth Exchange means multiplying our purchasing power and helping to move the marketplace."
The parties involved in the Greenhealth Exchange effort are currently working on adding new members and developing a network of suppliers. The purchasing cooperative also has plans to launch an online catalog on prescreened green products this fall.
To learn more about the marketplace, access the Greenhealth Exchange here.
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