The Department of Environmental Quality, together with Metro Health Hospital and the Michigan Health and Hospital Association, are sponsoring the state's first "green" conference for health-care providers.

The Green Michigan Healthcare Conference will feature a day of presentations and roundtables on sustainable business practices, climate change, energy consumption, and waste management. The September 25 conference, being held from 8:00 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. at Metro Health in Wyoming, MI, is open to professionals in the health-services sector, as well as health-care industry engineers and facilities managers.

Representatives from the DEQ, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, hospital administrators, and county emergency professionals will lead roundtable discussions on a variety of topics, including:

- Improving energy performance
- Sustainability, climate change, and hospitals
- Waste management strategies for hazardous waste
- Practicing green health care

Metro Health, located at 5900 Byron Center Ave in Wyoming, is the first full-service hospital in the region to earn Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification. The hospital and its 12 neighborhood outpatient clients have received numerous awards for its green practices, including the national Partner for Change award from PracticeGreenhealth.

The cost to attend the Green Michigan Healthcare Conference is $30. Registration is available online at www.michigan.gov/deqworkshops (click on "Upcoming DEQ Workshops"). For registration information, contact the Environmental Assistance Center at 1 800 662 9278, or e-mail at deq-ead-env-assist@michigan.gov.

Editor's note: DEQ news releases are available on the department's Internet home page at www.michigan.gov/deq.

"Protecting Michigan's Environment, Ensuring Michigan's Future"

Revised September 11, 2008 by Pat Watson