PARMA, Ohio — University Hospitals Parma Medical Center placed top tier out of more than 1,000 health care facilities across the country recognized by Practice Greenhealth as a Partner for Change. Practice Greenhealth, an organization working toward sustainable health care, honored UH Pharma for reducing food waste.

According to a University Hospitals press release, UH Parma was one of 10 hospitals in the U.S. to be recognized by Practice Greenhealth. The medical center received the Food Circle of Excellence Award for purchasing sustainable and locally sourced food and beverages, educating the community, composting, and reducing food waste.

Jay Loughner is a manager of food and nutrition services, as well as a long-time leader of the Sustainability Committee at UH Parma.

“UH Parma Medical Center remains a health care leader for its continued focus on finding opportunities to reduce, reuse and recycle,” Loughner said. “We work continuously on engaging our staff to influence a culture of sustainability.”

UH Parma takes part in a program called WasteWatch at all of its food-service locations across the 21-hospital UH health system. The WasteWatch software tracks UH Parma’s transactions, as well as financial and environmental impact.

The site team of Sodexo, the food service provider for UH, measures food waste, captures data and acts based on intuitive analytics in order to help reduce avoidable food waste.

Employees log onto the WasteWatch Program to weigh food waste and adjust the amount of food purchased and prepared based on usage.

In 18 months, from late 2020 through the spring of 2022, WasteWatch helped UH Hospitals prevent 223,000 pounds of food waste, conserve nearly 2.5 million bathtubs worth of water and save more than 186,000 meals.

UH Parma played a significant role in this conservation effort.