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Social Responsibility Strategy for Metropolitan Hospital
Every industry has the duty to do the right thing, or be socially responsible, but this is especially true in healthcare where the very foundation is preserving life and doing no harm. This report will consider environmental, ethical leadership, organizational viability and legal aspects pertaining to Metropolitan Hospital and make recommendations for a corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategy in each area.
A.1. Environmental Considerations and Recommendations
Healthcare has a tremendous impact on the environmental footprint. Consider the amount of waste the healthcare industry produces; the EPA estimates that hospitals produce 7000 tons of waste per day (Sustainable Healthcare, n.d.). This waste includes regulated medical waste (infectious, biohazardous or red bag waste), solid waste, hazardous waste, recycling, pharmaceutical waste and construction or demolition debris. Some of these wastes have a direct effect on global warming by releasing harmful greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Harmful greenhouse gases (GHG) that hospitals produce include carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and fluorinated gases such as sevoflurane, isoflurane and desflurane. Incineration and landfill disposal of solid waste causes carbon dioxide to be emitted into the atmosphere. Methane, with six times the global warming capacity of carbon dioxide, is also a by-product of landfills. Nitrous oxide and fluorinated gases are common anesthetic gases used every day in the hospital (Tracking and managing, n.d.). Of all the departments in the hospital, the operating room is one of the largest consumers of supplies and producers of waste, contributing up to 20-30% of the waste generated by the hospital (Greening the operating room, n.d.). Because the operating room at Metropolitan Hospital is the largest contributor to the

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