Mercy Medical Center-West Lakes

But other efforts go even further.  Such is the case with Mercy Medical Center-West Lakes in West Des Moines, which last week became the first Iowa hospital built to LEED-certified specifications and recognized as a LEED facility by the U.S. Green Building Council.  LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification is a national program that sets extensive standards for design, construction and operations of buildings. Certification means these aspects of a building have been reviewed and have met these rigorous standards. Among the eco-friendly steps taken by the hospital: 

• A white reflective roof to keep heat out in summer. 
• Three sizes of energy efficient boilers to reduce heating costs. 
• Large windows and skylights that are connected to special sensors that turn off lights in areas when they are not needed. 
• Special water flow technology that reduces usage by 21 percent and plants and grasses that were selected for landscaping based on their lower demands for water. 
• Twenty percent of construction materials came from recycled goods and two-thirds of the hospital’s waste will be recycled. 

Of course, Mercy West Lakes has the advantage of being a brand new hospital (it opened last September).  But hospitals all over Iowa have taken steps to reduce their environmental impact.  For example: 

• Conservation efforts by Iowa Health-Des Moines reduced its paper use by 572 cartons in 2009 compared to the previous year and a program to reprocess and reproduce medical devices kept nearly four tons of waste out of landfills.  By switching from Styrofoam to eco-friendly disposable products, the food and nutrition department saved 7,600 gallons of gasoline, 23,600 pounds of green house gas and 413 trees. 
• Over the past 18 months, St. Luke’s Regional Medical Center in Sioux City has processed and shipped nearly 1,200 pounds of used batteries for recycling, the equivalent of nearly 23,600 AA batteries. To reduce greenhouse gas emissions, new energy efficient heating and cooling systems, boilers with high-tech burners and energy-saving motor control systems have also been added to reduce the hospital’s carbon footprint. 
• Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare-Iowa, which includes Covenant Medical Center in Waterloo, Mercy Hospital in Oelwein and Sartori Memorial Hospital in Cedar Falls, has stepped up its recycling efforts last year and kept nearly 870 tons of material from being dumped into landfills. 
• At Great River Medical Center in West Burlington, 30 percent of the hospital’s total waste in 2009 was recycled, keeping nearly 382,000 pounds of garbage out of the landfill.  In May 2009, the surgical services department began recycling the blue sterile draping used to wrap instruments after they are sterilized. This adds up to 7,800 pounds a year. The department also recycles plastic from surgical prep kits. 

Larger hospitals aren’t the only ones contributing. Orange City Area Health System has implemented several ideas, including switching to “coreless” toilet paper rolls; using more washable glasses, cups and plates; and placing paper recycling bins throughout all facilities and placing more battery recycling receptacles. The hospital also offers cell phone recycling for employees.

Methodist West Hospital

Two IHA Associate Members played major roles in Methodist West’s construction:  Shive-Hattery was the project architect and the Weitz Company was the construction manager. 

Staff at Methodist West will officially begin seeing patients on October 26.

This week we’d like to congratulate the following individuals on their recent achievements:

• Steve Krob joined Iowa Methodist Occupational Health and Wellness as marketing and sales coordinator.
• Katy Hill, a registered nurse, now serves as emergency medical service coordinator at Iowa Health-Des Moines.
• Dr. Ken Cheyne accepted the role of interim medical director for Blank Children’s Hospital.

Thanks to the Des Moines Register for the notifications.

If you’d like to recognize someone for their achievements (or be recognized for your own) on the IHA blog, send us the details.

Hospitals need reliable ways to measure foundational skills to ensure they are hiring the most qualified, trainable candidates. ACT, a  not-for-profit organization that provides assessment services in the areas of workforce and education, has two products that fit the bill for hospitals: WorkKeys and the National Career Readiness Certificate.

WorkKeys

WorkKeys offers both cognitive skills assessments and personal skills measures, enabling employers to assess the full potential of applicants.

Mercy Iowa City incorporates the WorkKeys assessment into their application process.  Applicants are assessed on applied mathematics, reading for information and locating information. Results are then compared to the skills level needed for the position.

Since implementing the WorkKeys assessment into the pre-hire process, Mercy has experienced a decrease in employee turnover, gains in productivity and improved staff morale.

National Career Readiness Certificate

The National Career Readiness Certificate (CRC) verifies to employers an individual has essential core employability skills in reading, math and locating information.

ACT has researched over 16,000 occupations and these three skills are highly important to the majority of jobs in the workplace. Sixteen states have already implemented a statewide Career Readiness Certificate program and Iowa is among 19 other states in the process of doing so, according to the National Organization for Career Credentialing.

Iowa Health – Des Moines is the first organization in Central Iowa to join the Career Readiness Certificate Employer Consortium of organizations recognizing the Career Readiness Certificate. According to Sue Allyn, Iowa Health – Des Moines, Vice President for Human Resources, “It is one more assurance that a person is skilled and ready for our workplace.”

What Works Well at your Hospital?

These tools are just two examples of how hospitals can continue to ensure they are hiring the most qualified candidates into their workforce.

What is working well in the hiring process at your hospital? Are you using another tool to help screen for the best job candidates?

Share your tactics in the comments below.