Finley Is Green (FIG)
Caring For Patients, Caring For Our Environment
The Finley Hospital is committed to providing high-quality care in a manner that promotes environmental sustainability. Finley Hospital is helping do its part to ensure a more sustainable future through the Finley Is Green (FIG) program. This program is designed to:
- Conserve Energy
- Prevent Pollution
- Reduce Waste
- Conserve Water
- Educate Staff
Lean, Green and Clean
The Finley Is Green Committee is working to create and implement eco-friendly initiatives everyday. The committee is made up of members from various staff and departments throughout the hospital.
By Jack Ditmar, Director of Finley Materials Management and Leader of the Finley Green Team and part of the E.C.I.A./Dubuque Chamber Green Team
The Mission Statement of the Finley Green team is to demonstrate our commitment to Sustainability and Green Initiatives through effective waste reduction and disposal, recycling and resource conservation and environmental planning.
It is my pleasure, as the Finley Green Team leader, to report on the progress that Finley/VNA is making with our sustainability program. As a responsible corporate citizen of Dubuque, Finley takes sustainability very seriously. The Finley Green Team has been very active this past year, and several new initiatives have been completed through team efforts. Hospital managers such as Mary Jacobsen (Environmental Services) and Neal Erdmann (Facilities) with their department staff have been practicing conservation and recycling for many years at Finley. Rose Metcalf, RN in surgery is a champion in the surgery area with her efforts to recycle plastic and open but unused items, and the surgery staff has joined her to make this initiative successful.
Finley physicians have also been supportive of our reprocessing efforts. The entire Finley Family is actively supporting our
battery recycling program which is near the milestone of 1 ton of batteries recycled. As a measure, a ton of the kind of batteries we use is enough to fill four 55 gallon drums! Other measures of sustainability recently implemented at Finley resulted in:
- Reduced natural gas use by 5000 MMBTH by installing new electronic control burners on the hospital boilers and replacing the de-aerator tank system for the boilers.
- Used the Iowa Waste Exchange to find reuse opportunities for obsolete items that would have otherwise been land filled or scrapped.
- Reduced water use by 16 million gallons by replacing the de-aerator tank system for the boilers, replacing leaky old pumps and installing low flow faucets, shower heads and flush valves.
Environmental programs at Finley receive total support from senior leadership enabling all Finley employees to consider additional areas to reduce, reuse, and recycle. Here are some statistics about our energy consumption and solid waste:
Summary of Finley Hospital/VNA Solid Waste Generated and Recycled in 2010
| Item Description | Amount |
| Confidential paper documents (PHI - Shredded) | 29.2 tons (recycled) |
| Medical Waste (Regulated - Processed at Company) | 28.6 tons* |
| Sharps Waste (Regulated - Processed at Company) | 5.5 tons* |
| Food Waste | 7.8 tons** |
| Trash (Dumpsters) | 229.3 tons |
| Batteries |
.5 tons |
| Cardboard (Baled) | 62.4 tons (recycled) |
| Paper, Plastic, 5% Metal and 5% Glass (Comingled Container) | 45.5 tons (recycled) |
| Metal Taken Directly to Scrap Dealer | 0.7 tons (recycled) |
| Total Waste Generated | 409.5 tons |
| Total Waste Recycled | 138.3 tons |
| % of Unregulated Waste Recycled | 37% |
| Actual Waste Sent to Dubuque Landfill | 229.3 tons |
| % of All Waste Generated Sent to Dubuque Landfill | 56% |
| * not included in calculation of % waste recycled as these are regulated and processed at the company and are subtracted from overall waste generated total, leaving 375.4 tons of waste recycling opportunities. ** scraps ground up in garbage disposals and handled by sanitary sewer system. Note: Thanks to Republic Services in helping to determine some of these numbers. |
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The Petal Project
Finley Hospital is the first of 10 Dubuque businesses in the Petal Project to complete all 5 components. Learn more about The Petal Project and this accomplishment.
Finley Hospital
350 North Grandview Avenue
Dubuque, IA 52001
(563) 582-1881
