Healthcare Purchasing Tool now Available through AHRMM

CHICAGO, January 30, 2001  - The Health Care Environmental Purchasing Tool (HCEPT) is now available through the Association for Healthcare Resource & Materials Management (AHRMM). This tool will help organizations evaluate the environmental impacts of the products they purchase. It will also provide hospitals with an "environmental screening process" so that purchasing decisions can be made with the use of an environmental score of the products they purchase and use. This allows hospitals to choose products that are the least harmful to the environment whenever possible. The tool also signals to healthcare suppliers that the healthcare industry, and your facility, is committed to community health.

The HCEPT is aimed at protecting and improving the environment through the reduction in substances such as mercury and dioxins. These substances persist in the environment, accumulate in animal tissues, and have toxic effects. These compounds can enter the environment through combustion processes, wastewater treatment facilities, or leaching from solid waste sites.

AHRMM has teamed with the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the Illinois Waste Management and Research Center, the Ecology Center, and the Minnesota Office of Environmental Assistance to develop the Health Care Environmental Purchasing Tool. The HCEPT is a result of a two-year field-tested project funded by the Great Lakes Protection Fund.

About AHRMM
The Association for Healthcare Resource & Materials Management is the leading national association for executives in the healthcare resource and materials management profession. A personal membership group of the American Hospital Association, the Association serves more than 2,700 active members. Founded in 1962, AHRMM prepares its members to contribute to the field and advance the profession through networking, education, recognition, and advocacy. For more information, please visit www.ahrmm.org.