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Newsletter 2004 issue 2 |
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Making Medicine Mercury Free
New Ulm Medical Center and Parker Hughes Institute
virtually eliminate mercury from their facilities.
Reproductive toxin, potent neurotoxin. Sounds
like something that might send you to the hospital. Or, something
you might find already there.
The majority of hospitals have a significant
volume of mercury on site, in fever thermometers, blood pressure
cuffs and other equipment and products. But, health care leaders
are taking steps to protect public health by virtually eliminating
mercury from their facilities.
In 2004, New Ulm Medical Center and Parker
Hughes Institute, Roseville, were each awarded the Making
Medicine Mercury Free (MMMF) Award from Hospitals for a Healthy
Environment (H2E).
New Ulm eliminated 75 pounds of mercury
from its 200,000 square foot facility. It used the project
as a JCAHO (Joint Commission for the Accreditation of Healthcare
Organizations) environment of care performance improvement.
The medical center originally thought that it would replace
equipment a little at a time. “But, everything came together
and all the change outs happened in the same 12 months,”
said Laurie McPhee, New Ulm’s facilities and safety manager.
MMMF criteria
Anywhere that mercury is not completely eliminated, the facility
needs to inventory the remaining items and have a plan in
place for non-mercury substitutes. Among other criteria, award
winners must:
- Replace mercury thermometers
- Replace all or majority (75%) of sphygmomanometers
- Inventory and label all mercury-containing
facility devices (switches, thermostats, etc.)
- Replace B5/Zenkers stains with non-mercury
substitutes
- Inventory mercury-containing lab chemicals
“The hardest part was having to sift
through lists and lists and lists of things that contain mercury,”
said McPhee.
The facilities had to locate non-mercury
containing equipment that worked as well as the current equipment
to ensure patient care. New Ulm’s Hazardous Materials
Committee found data and research to support the alternatives.
H2E is a joint project of the American Hospital
Association and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency designed
to help health care facilities reduce waste and become better
environmental stewards and neighbors.
Previous MMMF award winners in Minnesota
include First Care Medical Services, Hennepin County Medical
Center and Ridgeview Medical Center. Duluth Clinic Health
System, St. Luke’s Hospital and Regional Trauma Center,
and St. Mary’s Medical Center won similar awards prior
to the inception of H2E.
More information on the MMMF award and mercury
in health care facilities is on MnTAP's Mercury
Web page.
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