The installation of the ozone-powered Vortex waste treatment system helps LMH reduce emissions while driving down costs, putting the health system on track to reach its ambitious sustainability goals.
Lawrence, KS (August 15, 2024) – LMH Health is among the first health systems in the country to massively bring down the carbon footprint of its waste processing operations.
It’s all thanks to the installation of the Vortex waste treatment system from WasteMedX, which came online at LMH Health’s main hospital at the beginning of August. The system, which uses an ozone-based treatment process, reduces emissions, cuts costs, and enables non-hazardous medical waste to be put into standard waste streams thanks to a unique sterilization process.
“This is a new technology [that] fits right into our strategic imperative around sustainability,” said Russ Johnson, CEO of LMH Health. “It helps us solve the waste stream around bio-hazardous waste, which can be clunky, difficult and expensive, and it allows us to take a little more control over operational processes, feel confident about them being handled correctly and appropriately, and reduce our operating costs.”
The eco-friendly WasteMedX is a cleaner, safer, more sustainable waste solution for healthcare organizations. The company’s service helps protect hospital staff through safer elimination of potentially hazardous waste, all while minimizing pollutants and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
“Waste is one of those processes that can easily fall under the radar of a healthcare facility,” said Tim Miller, CEO of WasteMedX. “Thankfully, the leadership at LMH has really put the Lawrence community front and center and thought deeply about how to serve their patient base. Not just through their clinical expertise, which they excel at, but through creating a better environment. I couldn’t be more honored that they chose WasteMedX to help them meet their ambitious sustainability goals.”
“Sustainability here is very important,” said Bill Churchwell, director of Environmental Services at LMH Health. “We have a lot of waste that comes into a hospital. The best thing I like about this machine is we have control over our waste. We know that all of our HIPAA documents are being shredded. We know that all of our waste is being processed and sanitized, and we know where it’s going. It’s good for the hospital and it’s good for the environment.”
WasteMedX’s technology reduces the volume of medical waste by approximately 90%, sterilizing shredded waste thanks to ozone treatment technology. With the push of a button, waste is weighed, shredded, sterilized and transferred to a disposal container. WasteMedX’s full-service pickup and transport to a central facility further ensures the prompt, safe removal of medical waste.
Benefits include reduced waste cost, cleaner waste processes, faster processes, reduced greenhouse gas emissions and easy electronic waste tracking.
To learn more and to see the new system in action, watch this video about the WasteMedX Vortex at LMH Health.
And visit https://www.lmh.org/ to learn more about how LMH Health continues to improve the health of the community in myriad ways.
To learn more about WasteMedX, visit https://wastemedx.com/.
Welcome to LMH Health
At LMH Health, formerly Lawrence Memorial Hospital, our purpose is to be a partner for lifelong health.
LMH Health has a rich history. Founded in 1921, LMH is a 174-bed hospital located in Lawrence, Kansas. Through the years, hospital additions have been built and health care services have expanded—a trend that continues today.
LMH Health continues to be a community-owned, not-for-profit hospital that serves the health care needs of the community regardless of an individual’s ability to pay. LMH receives no tax support from the city of Lawrence or Douglas County. Dedicated to improving the health of the community, LMH invests all excess revenues in services, equipment and facilities which further that mission.
LMH Health provides care that is sensitive to cultural, racial, religious and other differences and does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, age, ethnicity, culture, language, socio-economic status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, physical or mental disability, or source of payment, nor in relation to employment practices.
The hospital is accredited by The Joint Commission. In addition, hospital services are surveyed by a variety of other accrediting agencies.
About WasteMedX
WasteMedX helps hospitals heal the planet as well as patients. They do this through an eco-friendly waste treatment and disposal process that minimizes pollutants and reduces costs. This ozone treatment technology provides safe, efficient application of an ozone compound to all types of medical waste, reducing its volume up to 90%. The reactivity of the ozone compound destroys bacteria on contact and, with the push of a button, waste is weighed, shredded, sterilized and transferred to a disposal container.
Founded in Indiana in 2016 on the belief that hospital waste treatment and disposal could be more efficient, less costly and help hospitals achieve their sustainability goals, WasteMedX is revolutionizing waste disposal processes around the country.
