Dartmouth-Hitchcock has joined three large health care providers to create a purchasing cooperative focused on products that are more environmentally friendly.
The Greenhealth Exchange was founded by Dartmouth-Hitchcock, Dignity Health, Gundersen Health System and Partners HealthCare along with sustainability advocates Health Care Without Harm and Practice Greenhealth.
GX is backed by 60 hospitals that have $21 billion in annual revenues and buy more than $4 billion worth of goods and services.
“At Greenhealth Exchange, we believe that we can help catalyze the development of low-toxicity, low-carbon, healthier products needed for the future,” said John Strong, president of Greenhealth Exchange.
Health care organizations in the U.S. purchase more than $300 billion of goods and services each year, accounting for 17 percent of the marketplace, according to the group.
“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’s vice president of supply chain, Curtis Lancaster. “Investing in Greenhealth Exchange means multiplying our purchasing power and helping to move the marketplace.”
The exchange is developing a network of suppliers and expects to launch the online catalog in about six months.
“Supplies and equipment have as big, if not bigger, impact on the environment as our energy use and waste management,” said Jeff Thompson, executive adviser and CEO emeritus for Gundersen Health System.
Monitor staff