Several major hospital chains have started up a group purchasing organization for providing environmentally friendly products to hospitals and other providers. The initiative, known as the Greenhealth Exchange, or GX, involves Dignity Health in California and East Coast and Midwest hospital operators Partners HealthCare, Gundersen Health System and Dartmouth Hitchcock Health. The intent is to add greater environmental cognizance to the $300 billion annual group purchasing market. "We know the health of our communities and the health of our planet are inexorably linked," said Sister Mary Ellen Leciejewski, Dignity Health's director of ecology, in a statement. "Using high-quality products and processes for our patients that are also eco-friendly has long been a priority for Dignity Health. Greenhealth Exchange will help to further this mission both for Dignity Health and the healthcare industry as a whole." Website