The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center works to make cancer history. At the hospital, known for its holistic approach to cancer care, a newly certified environmental management system is seen as one way to further its mission.
Says Vice President for Operations and Facilities Management William Daigneau, M. D. Anderson is unique in that we have a sole mission: eradicating cancer. That is the focus of everything we do; everything is mobilised around this. There is a saying at M. D. Anderson: From the bench to the bedside. It means we should work to take the fruits of research and transfer it as quickly and safely as possibly to help people. This spring M. D. Andersons 500,000th patient received care at the hospital.
M. D. Anderson was founded thanks to the philanthropic heart of a Houston cotton merchant, Monroe Dunaway Anderson. When the Texas Legislature authorised the University of Texas to establish a hospital for cancer research and treatment somewhere in the state of Texas in 1941, the M. D. Anderson Foundation agreed to match the appropriated $500,000 if the hospital was built in Houston and named after its benefactor.
Behind the scenes
A hospital is not a place that often comes to mind when thinking about waste, emissions and pollution. Environmental, Health and Safety Executive Director and Chief Safety Officer Linda Lee explains, M. D. Anderson, with its 13,000 staff and patients spread over 7 million square feet, is the size of a small town. Among the environmental, health and safety issues they are potentially exposed to here are small quantities of a wide variety of chemicals and radioactive materials. Likewise, because of M. D. Andersons explosive growth, they are engaged in numerous construction activities. For years, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has had its focus on big organisations and chemical companies, but now there is a shift in emphasis that began in the late 1990s with the universities in the New England area.
Lee is referring to the Federal agencys crackdown on hospitals and universities, forcing them to implement clean-up programmes. Says Daigneau, People work best not when they are coerced into doing something, but when they really wish to.
M. D. Anderson managers aimed to elevate their Environmental, Health and Safety (EHS) programmes from compliance to a leadership level. Beginning with Daigneaus Facilities Management Division, areas targeted relate to energy and waste management. There are three main recycling programmes. In the chemical solvent recycling programme xylene, formalin and ethanol are reclaimed and offered back to the laboratories. The municipal waste programme segregates, collects and sells for reuse paper, cardboard, aluminium and scrap steel. M. D. Anderson also participates in the Medical Bridges programme, which involves the collection of medical equipment and supplies for shipment to third world countries.
A collective mission
M. D. Anderson has left a trail of research milestones benefiting people everywhere. Today, its scientists are on their way to understanding many of the inherited or acquired flaws in various genes responsible for cancer. While doctors and researchers in their 900 laboratories are at the forefront, the contributions of all 13,000 employees are deemed important to the collective mission.
Says Daigneau, At M. D. Anderson we in Facilities Management are dedicated to excellence just as researchers and doctors are in their fields. The Environmental, Health and Safety group makes sure that we can operate safely for both patients and the community. When we treat patients, we must not create problems elsewhere. We do not want to create interruptions or cause problems to our mission. The challenge was not only to comply with regulations, but also to mobilise and implement best practices. We needed to create a system, and then validate and realise best practice in the EHS department.
Linda Lee and her team decided that a certified environmental management system (EMS) was the best way for M. D. Anderson to leave a greener trail. She explains, We wanted to make it more system oriented. We attended an ISO 14001 overview session in March 2001, and decided that this was the next step in the evolution for us: to go for a more systematic approach. We felt that we had an effective programme, but we wanted to be as much a leader in environment, health and safety as we are in cancer research.
Managing the environment
Working with consultants Avery Environmental and The Solution Foundry, the M. D. Anderson EHS team began conducting risk assessments and regulatory reviews to target areas that had to be dealt with immediately, and identify issues for subsequent action.
Using an EMS to facilitate the process has helped M. D. Anderson organise and prioritise. Says Lee, We designed an EMS programme so we can grow into it. You must be aware of what you need to address, and it is easier to put in systems to detect, to prevent or minimise disasters when you have an EMS in place. A hospital is responsible for preventing accidents, releases and exposure to the community. An EMS is crucial here. You need to identify the risks and how to mitigate them.
As a well-known figure in the University of Texas System, M. D. Anderson strives to be a community leader. Implementing an EMS has also made it easier for M. D. Anderson to comply with the requirements of state environmental programmes like Clean Texas and the Environmental Protection Agencys Performance Track programme.
From top to bottom
In establishing the EMS programme with the 1,000 Facilities Management employees, communication was key. Informational meetings and an EMSIntranet site were initiated. Explaines Lee, Communication has not just been in the form of training, but more of a cultural approachsaying that we care about the environment and people, and protecting their working environment. This also gives these employees a purpose in that they can make a difference in helping make cancer history.
Integrating the environmental management system into the daily tasks of the staff was crucial to the success of the programme and ensuing certification. Says Lee, EMS expedites this, as it incorporates the entire organisational process. We dedicated resources to this work, getting the commitment of senior management: president Dr John Mendelshon, executive vice president Leon J. Leach, and William Daigneau. Top-level support is crucial, and that coincides with M. D. Andersons philosophy. This is not an EHS department programme; it is the institutions programme. The workers make it happen.
Daigneau adds, Anderson is recognised worldwide for its cancer work. But that also means it is crucial for all the support services to function. Being a leader means that one cannot afford to have someone who is not performing.
Excelling beyond compliance
M. D. Anderson is among the first hospitals in the U.S. to be ISO 14001 certified. M. D. Anderson received its certificate in December 2001. Certification was extended to M. D. Andersons Science Park Bastrop Campus research centre in July 2002, and preparation for an OHSAS 18001 certificate has already begun.
Says Daigneau, Periodic audits make sure that our programmes are effective. They are a continual introspection into what you are doing according to current laws, regulations and practices. We do not spend money to get a wall plaque but because it helps us continue our path uninterrupted. We found a way to test our implementation of best practice. It is good business, consistent with our mission, and is a way to run the organisation in the best manner.
Text:cecilie.lone@dnv.com
Photo: Courtesy of University of Texas
Date: 2002-08-15