Orkin and H2E Collaborate to Publish Guide to More Environmentally Friendly Pest Management
ATLANTA, October 30, 2006 – Atlanta-based pest control company Orkin, Inc. has collaborated with Hospitals for a Healthy Environment (H2E) to publish the “H2E 10-Step Guide to Implementing an Integrated Pest Management Program.”
“This 10-Step Guide will help facility staff understand and communicate the reasons to switch to the IPM approach, develop protocols for their own programs and assess IPM service programs in an informed way,” said Laura Brannen, H2E Executive Director. “We hope it will be the first step to safer, less chemical-intensive pest control for health care facilities looking to reduce their environmental impact.”
The guide offers health care facility managers a step-by-step process to: - understand and communicate the value of IPM internally, - make the operational shift toward IPM and away from more traditional pest control practices, and - measure and reward performance.
“IPM is a more holistic approach to pest control,” said Zia Siddiqi, Ph.D., Orkin’s director of quality assurance and a contributing author. “By understanding why the pests are there, you can remove the elements that attract them. In turn, you reduce the need to use chemical treatments and minimize recurring problems.”
This is not the first time H2E and Orkin have worked together. Orkin consulted H2E and its sister organization Health Care Without Harm in early 2005 to aid in the development of a “greener” pest control program called Gold Medal Protection for Health Care. The collaborative effort resulted in an IPM program emphasizing non-chemical controls and boasting a comprehensive documentation system that prepares hospitals for reviews by facility administration, public health inspectors, medical personnel and health care accreditation boards.
As the premier environmental assistance program for the health care sector, H2E has established a wide variety of programs that help facilities go beyond standard environmental compliance to embrace sustainable operations that protect worker, patient, community and environmental health. The H2E Partner program and H2E’s annual awards recognize health care sector organizations that improve their own environmental performance and raise awareness of environmental issues to others in the industry.
For more information on Gold Medal Protection for Health Care, visit www.orkincommercial.com. For more information about H2E programs and resources, visit www.h2e-online.org.
*About Integrated Pest Management (IPM)
IPM is an environmentally responsible approach to pest management that combines multiple pest management options – from sanitation and structural countermeasures to trapping and habitat modification – versus relying on pesticides alone. It is the method recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), The American Society for Healthcare Environmental Services (ASHES), Hospitals for a Healthy Environment (H2E) and many others.
About H2E
H2E (Hospitals for a Healthy Environment) is creating a national movement for environmental sustainability in health care. Jointly founded by the American Hospital Association, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Health Care Without Harm and the American Nurses Association, H2E is based on the vision of a healthy health care system that embraces safer building products, clean air, energy and water efficiency, safe working practices and a commitment to public health demonstrated through waste volume and toxicity reduction. To achieve this goal, H2E provides its more than 6000 health care facility Partners with education, tools and information about best environmental practices, to help improve operational efficiency, increase compliance and improve the health of their communities.