NASSAU UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER FIRST HOSPITAL ON LONG ISLAND TO ADOPT AWARD-WINNING GREENING PROGRAM

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 21, 2010

PRESS CONTACT:
Shelley Lotenberg
shelley@numc.edu
516-572-6055

 NASSAU UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER  
FIRST HOSPITAL ON LONG ISLAND TO ADOPT AWARD-WINNING GREENING PROGRAM

Children’s Health Advocate Deirdre Imus Joins CEO Arthur A. Gianelli in Announcement

East Meadow, NY — Nassau University Medical Center becomes the first hospital on Long Island to adopt an award-winning greening program that seeks to eliminate toxins from the environment indoors and out, announced Arthur A. Gianelli, President/CEO of the NuHealth System at a press conference Thursday with children’s health advocate Deirdre Imus. 
 
Deirdre Imus is Founder and President of the Deirdre Imus Environmental Center for Pediatric Oncology® which developed the award-winning Greening the Cleaning® program at Hackensack University Medical Center in Hackensack, New Jersey.  She is also Co-Founder and Co-Director of the Imus Cattle Ranch for Kids with Cancer in Ribera, New Mexico and is a frequent contributor to FoxNewsHealth.com and the Huffington Post.
 
“We thank Deirdre Imus for leading the way with us as we embark on a healthier environment for our patients, visitors and employees.  This is an important first step toward prevention and wellness not just here but in the broader Long Island community,” Gianelli said.
 
Ms. Imus, an author of four books, including three national bestsellers, is a frequent speaker on green living and children’s health issues:  “I believe even the environment in a hospital should heal, she said.  “We want to educate medical centers on the health benefits and overall value of greening and explore new ways of putting these concepts into practice.”
 
Greening the Cleaning means eliminating to the greatest extent possible, all cleaning agents containing hazardous ingredients and replacing them with naturally-derived ingredients with the least level of toxicity.  One hundred percent of all profits from these institutional products go to the Environmental Center for supporting education and research to identify, control and ultimately prevent exposures to environmental factors that may cause adult and especially pediatric cancer, as well as other health problems with our children.   
            
“Studies continue to show the potential negative health effects of poor indoor air quality.  Using Greening the Cleaning® products is just a starting point for a healthy change.  We encourage medical centers to take full advantage in reducing costs while reducing toxins in the environment through improvements in energy efficiency, green building materials, waste minimization and disposal.,” Ms. Imus said.    
 
Karen Benrubi, special assistant to the President/CEO, who was instrumental in coordinating this initiative said: “It has been a wonderful experience working with Deirdre Imus in bringing about needed environmental transformation to our cleaning strategy by including environmentally safer and cost effective cleaning products.”
 
Greening the Cleaning® products include floor care products, non-streaking stainless steel cleaner general-purpose cleaners, glass cleaners, disinfectants, deodorizers, restroom cleaners and laundry products.  Commercial customers report that Greening the Cleaning products work as well or better than existing cleaning agents.
 
Nassau University Medical Center joins other healthcare facilities, government authorities, businesses and schools that have implemented the program to date, with direct savings in cleaning costs ranging from budget neutral to 75 percent.  Hackensack University Medical Center, a 501 (c) (3) not for profit corporation, was the first to adopt the Greening the Cleaning® program in 2001, and experienced a 15 percent direct savings in cleaning costs.
 
All Greening the Cleaning commercial products are distributed nationwide by the Central Association for the Blind & Visually Impaired (CABVI) 315-797-2233.  Purchases help employ people who are blind or visually impaired in filling, packaging, distribution and customer service operations.  
 
Recognized in 2006 by Governor George Pataki, Deirdre Imus and the Environmental Center helped usher in “Green Cleaning” Executive Orders in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut that require state agencies to reduce or eliminate the use of toxic cleaning agents.
Among other awards, the Greening the Cleaning® products received the U.S. Green Building Council-NJ Chapter’s first Green Products Award last year.

ABOUT NUHEALTH:
NuHealth is a Long Island health care organization delivering essential medical care and disease and lifestyle management to everyone at every stage of life.  Also known as Nassau Health Care Corporation, NuHealth is a public benefit corporation managing the operations of Nassau University Medical Center, A. Holly Patterson Extended Care and a network of Family Health Centers that bring primary and specialty care out into the community.  By emphasizing wellness, cultural sensitivity and collaborative efforts with the North Shore-LIJ Health System, NuHealth is working to make good care more affordable and easier to access.

For more information about NuHealth or its Centers of Care, visit www.nuhealth.net.