Staff Writer

ONEONTA —Area hospitals don't just care for the health of their patients. Some are looking into the health of the planet as well.

A.O. Fox Memorial Hospital in Oneonta recently joined the hospitals for a Healthy Environment, or H2E program.

H2E participants are working to eliminate mercury-containing waste from the health-care industry by 2005 and to reduce the total volume of all wastes by 33 percent by that year and 50 percent by 2010. The program is a joint effort by the American Hospital Association, the federal Environmental Protection Agency, the American Nurses Association and Healthcare Without Harm.

David Bird, Fox's director of environmental services, said the hospital joined the initiative to help the environment and save money.

"If we reduce waste by 33 percent, we'll save money just from the cost of having it removed," he said.

As mercury must be recycled, he added, the more mercury eliminated, the lower the cost of recycling. Besides thermometers, mercury is also used in blood pressure cuffs, thermostats and light bulbs, among other items, Bird said.

Of H2E's 345 partners, 18 are in New York, including O'Connor Hospital in Delhi. The partners represent 1,021 facilities nationwide —357 hospitals, 620 clinics, 23 nursing homes and 104 other facilities.

O'Connor joined the program in March of last year, according to Jim Higgins, facilities director.

The hospital is seeking non-mercury alternatives when replacing equipment, he said, and has engaged on a campaign to educate employees about procedures to reduce environmental impact.

"A lot of times you'll find that people put other things beside red bag waste in red bags, so then it increases the waste and costs the hospital more money," Higgins said. The hospital must pay to have red bag waste, which contains hazardous material, removed.

Bassett Healthcare is not part of the H2E program, said spokeswoman Leslie Raabe, but the majority of hazardous material the hospital uses is recycled.

Among other measures, Bassett recycles fluorescent light tubes and lead acid batteries, she said, and almost all the silver used in X-rays is recovered and returned to the manufacturer for recycling. In addition, Bassett is in the process of replacing all equipment containing mercury with non-mercury equivalents.