Practice Greenhealth Hires First Exec

ARLINGTON, Va., April 14 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A new member-based organization, Practice Greenhealth, has named Robert N. Jarboe as its Executive Director. Practice Greenhealth reflects the combined experience of three powerful initiatives to improve the environmental performance of the healthcare sector: Hospitals for a Healthy Environment (H2E), the Green Guide for Health Care and the Healthcare Clean Energy Exchange.

Jarboe, a seasoned nonprofit executive, comes to Practice Greenhealth with a substantial background in creating nonprofits, nonprofit mergers and transitions of government organizations to nonprofit status. His career, stretching some thirty years, includes the creation, building and management of organizations on local, state and national levels.

"Practice Greenhealth is a unique and exciting opportunity for an executive," stated Jarboe. "It is the product of successful work on the part of advocates, programs and organizations. While the organization is new, its history of combined components is rich indeed. Practice Greenhealth is yet another step in a journey toward sustainability in the healthcare industry -- a journey that began well over a decade ago."

President and CEO, Grinnell Regional Medical Center and Practice Greenhealth Board Member, Todd Linden, described Jarboe's skills. "We wanted someone with nonprofit management experience as well as an entrepreneurial background which is not an easy combination. Fortunately, Bob has both these qualifications, and we strongly believe he will grow Practice Greenhealth on every level."

Practice Greenhealth will offer a host of services to help hospitals and businesses save money and continue their work toward greening the industry. Jarboe believes the timing couldn't be better for Practice Greenhealth, declaring, "Practice Greenhealth will assist our partners to reduce costs substantially and to make progress toward sustainability. We will make every effort to continue to be a stellar resource and to become the premiere location for the tools they need to accomplish these ends."

Among the list of efforts exerted by Practice Greenhealth are tools to reduce the volume and toxicity of medical waste, resources that assist hospitals to design and build green buildings, information about environmental purchasing, and a clean energy exchange program that can reduce energy consumption and provide substantial savings to the healthcare industry. Practice Greenhealth will capitalize on the successes of the past and continue to build momentum toward a sustainable healthcare sector.

Practice Greenhealth is now in the process of launching a Web site -- www.practicegreenhealth.org. It is the only nonprofit membership organization dedicated solely to providing a full range of tools, resources, technical assistance and networking opportunities to engage all members of the healthcare sector in creating sustainable environments.

SOURCE Practice Greenhealth