THE OSCAR G. JOHNSON VA Medical Center in Iron Mountain has earned a Greenhealth Emerald Award from Practice Greenhealth for its efforts in environmental sustainability in health care.

IRON MOUNTAIN — The Oscar G. Johnson VA Medical Center has been recognized with the Greenhealth Emerald Award from Practice Greenhealth, a national organization dedicated to environmental sustainability in health care.

The citation is among the Environmental Excellence Awards given each year to honor environmental achievements in the health care sector.

The Greenhealth Emerald Award recognizes health care facilities that help set the standard in eliminating mercury, reducing and recycling waste, sustainable sourcing and other areas. Winning hospitals have demonstrated a strong commitment to sustainability and shown leadership in the local community and in the health care sector.

The VA Medical Center undertook some significant environmental efforts that led to this achievement. These include recycling 253 tons, or 59 percent, of solid waste generated by the facility; reducing overall hazardous waste disposal by 35 percent; recycling approximately 263 tons, or 45 percent, of construction and demolition waste; and diverting 1.33 tons of plastic annually from the landfill by switching to reusable sharps containers.

“We believe that a clean and sustainable health care facility has a positive impact on the health and well-being of our patients, employees and community,” said Jim Rice, medical center director. “The credit goes to our employees who take sustainability of resources to heart and make these programs effective.”

The Oscar G. Johnson VA Medical Center annually serves more than 20,000 veterans in the Upper Peninsula and northern Wisconsin. More than 96 percent of its patients are considered rural or highly rural, making the medical center the most rural in the VA health care system.

Based in Reston, Va., Practice Greenhealth is dedicated to transforming health care worldwide so it reduces its environmental footprint, becomes a community anchor for sustainability and a leader in the global movement for environmental health.