Novare, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in butte, montana, and established in 2004, is proposing a one-year sustainable materials management (SMM) demonstration project within EPA region 8…

This Cooperative Agreement award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the Solid Waste Management Assistance Grants program (CFDA 66.808) provides $194,241 to the National Center for Health Care Informatics, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in Butte, Montana, for a one-year Sustainable Materials Management (SMM) demonstration project.

The project aims to create an expired medical supply and equipment hub to address waste generated by hospitals and clinics across the U.S. by repurposing and extending the lifecycle of these materials. The hub will cost-effectively support training for nursing schools, medical schools, simulation centers, fire/EMS services, the U.S. military, and other healthcare training programs nationwide, as most training programs currently use new supplies despite expired materials being suitable for simulation purposes. The project is consistent with EPA's National Recycling Strategy and Sustainable Materials Management goals.

Novare, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in butte, montana, and established in 2004, is proposing a one-year sustainable materials management (SMM) demonstration project within EPA region 8 states and the 28 tribal nations in the region. The project aims to create an expired medical supply and equipment hub to address the excessive waste generated by hospitals and clinics across the U.S. By repurposing and extending the life cycle of expired medical supplies and equipment, the hub would cost-effectively support training for nursing schools, medical schools, simulation centers, fire and EMS services, the U.S. Military, and other healthcare training programs nationwide. This project is consistent with EPA's national recycling strategy and its goals for sustainable materials management which aims to reduce the environmental impacts of materials across their lifecycle.activities:simulation training centers, colleges, universities, EMS programs, and the U.S. Military conduct extensive medical training without the use of live patients. Most of this training occurs in highly realistic simulation environments, which require up-to-date medical supplies and equipment to closely resemble real clinical settings. While most training programs use new supplies, expired supplies (in their original packaging) work perfectly well for training purposes. Currently, there are 728 accredited healthcare simulation training centers in the U.S., with many more worldwide. While some simulation training centers, especially those located in a hospital setting, use expired medical supplies, most healthcare training programs purchase materials at full cost. Novare has identified approximately 231 healthcare training programs within EPA region 8 that could benefit from repurposed medical supplies and equipment. These programs include nursing schools, medical colleges with simulation centers, fire and rescue stations, paramedic training schools, and military facilities. By redirecting expired materials for educational use, novare enhances hands-on training opportunities for future healthcare professionals, first responders, and our military medical personnel. Additionally, novare sees a significant opportunity to collaborate with the 28 tribes in EPA region 8, who represent communities with unique healthcare training needs. Novare aims to support healthcare in these areas by providing expired medical supplies and equipment for training purposes to these rural and urban tribal healthcare clinics. Beyond region 8, there are thousands of additional facilities across the U.S. That could benefit from these resources. As demand for high-quality simulation and hands-on learning continues to rise, novare's recycling initiative seeks to meet this need by providing sustainable solutions that both support advanced clinical education and reduce waste.subrecipient:no subawards are included in this assistance agreement.outcomes:the outputs anticipated for this project include: - reduction in environmental impacts through source reduction; - education and outreach to hospitals, including making recommendations back to the hospitals or clinics on how to improve inventory management and avoid over purchasing; - community based social marketing by target stakeholders through engagement, whitepaper highlighting success and ROI, and presenting at supply chain management conferences; - completing a life cycle assessment study promote responsible management of hospital supply inventories; - completion of quarterly reports and a final report. The outcomes anticipated for this project include: - increased awareness in hospitals and clinics of their inventory management systems and how to maximize the use of existing projects and avoid over purchasing; - improved systems within hospitals to extract out useable expired supplies from their waste stream to be utilized in the hub; - enhanced awareness of t