To improve community health by providing a better environment.

To integrate environmental factors into health care purchasing decisions.

To provide a means for you to learn about and access an environmental purchasing tool. The tool can be used by health care facilities and Group Purchasing Organizations (GPO's) to manage and reduce targeted contaminants such as mercury or other environmental concerns.

The health care Environmental Purchasing Tool (HCEPT) was developed through a grant from the Great Lakes Protection Fund.

The objective of the project was to develop a means of reducing the amounts of mercury and dioxin in the Great Lakes. The chosen method was to reduce the amounts of the pollutants by encouraging the procurement of health care products made with materials associated with lower environmental risks.

The tool was developed by a number of professionals. The consortium was led by the University of Wisconsin–Madison, Minnesota Office of Environmental Assistance, Illinois Waste Management and Research Center, The Ecology Center, The Nightingale Institute for Health and the Environment, AHA's Association for Healthcare Resource & Materials Management (AHRMM), Western Lake Superior Sanitary District, and Solid and Hazardous Waste Education Center of Wisconsin.

The tool was field tested in 9 health care facilities that ranged in size from a small voluntary clinic to a large multi-hospital system. The web site was tested by the Ohio Hospital Association's Environmental Committee. Input also came from GPOs, suppliers, and the Navy.

For a complete list of organizations and individuals that participated in the research project, click here.

Please direct comments or questions about the HCEPT or the pilot test project to:

Patrick D. Eagan, Ph.D., P.E.
Project Principal Investigator
University of Wisconsin-Madison
715 Extension Building
432 North Lake Street
Madison, Wisconsin 53706
Phone (608) 263-7429
Fax (608) 263-3160
eagan@engr.wisc.edu

Fran Kurk
Project Grant Administrator
Minnesota Office of Environmental Assistance
520 Lafayette Road North (2nd floor)
St. Paul, Minnesota 55155-4100
Phone (651) 215-0242
Fax (651) 215-0246
fran.kurk@moea.state.mn.us