RADFORD – For the third year in a row, Carilion NRV has won a national award for sustainibility
efforts.
“Sustainability is at the heart of Carilion’s healing mission, and Carilion’s sustainability strategies have
won the system national awards for two of its hospitals,” the company announced Monday.
Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital (CRMH) and Carilion New River Valley Medical Center (CNRV)
have each received the 2021 Environmental Excellence Award from Practice Greenhealth, the fifth
consecutive year the Roanoke facility has received the recognition, and the third consecutive year the
NRV medical center has been cited.
“In health care, sustainability means looking at how operations affect the health and safety of
environment as well as the health of patients, staff, visitors, and the local community,” according to
Carilion. “Strategies to address sustainability at Carilion include minimizing and recycling waste,
lowering energy and water consumption, and sourcing food locally when we can.”
“We’re grateful to the many caregivers, frontline workers, and administrators who are committed to this
work and bring innovation, ingenuity, and adaptability to help us dramatically improve our footprint,”
said Sara Wohlford, Efficiency and Sustainability manager for Carilion. “This is truly a system effort, and
it’s so exciting to see initiative at the grass-roots level.
“In recent years, Carilion teams have made great strides toward reducing their impact on the environment,
and they are committed to doing even more,” Wohlford said.
One creative sustainability initiative at Carilion Clinic New River Valley Medical Center is an apiary.
Daniel Kolasa, a radiographer at CNRV, “applied for a grant from the Carilion Clinic Foundation to start
the Bee Healthy Apiary on the grounds of the hospital. The apiary currently consists of two hives and a
bear fence but has the potential to grow to three hives in the coming year. Daniel tends to the apiary every
two weeks and offers tours to interested visitors,” according to Carilion.
Also, the Carilion Clinic drug donation program allows people to donate unused and unopened
medications to help those who are in need.
“It is designed to offer an affordable, onsite option for patients that are otherwise financially unable to
afford their current prescription medications with the added benefits of reducing medication waste as well
as reducing the risk of improper prescription disposal, which can lead to drugs leaching into local water
systems,” a statement from Carilion said. “This program was born through the joint realization of the
Carilion Medication Assistance Program and the Carilion Community Pharmacy.”
