Posted April 20, 2023 by Melissa Rusk, CLSSBB, CPC, Vice President of Operations
You, your health and well-being is always SummaCare’s focus. So as your community health insurance partner, we are not only committed to providing members with personal attention and coordinated care, but also respecting the environment and neighborhood in which we live.
For more than a decade, SummaCare, in partnership with Summa Health, has been dedicated to protecting the environment by taking steps to reduce waste and pollution, while increasing energy efficiency and recycling initiatives.
We’re proud to report in the past 15 years, together we’ve recycled 26,125,420 pounds of waste—that’s equivalent to about 70 Boeing 747 jets! From ewaste, including electronic items and toner, to cardboard, paper and shrink wrap, to pallets and crates, we have diverted millions of pounds of trash from the landfill.
In addition, when Summa Health’s new patient tower opened in 2019, the new spacious private rooms, amenities and latest medical tools weren’t the only things attracting attention. That’s because the new seven-story tower is insulated throughout with recycled blue jeans. Yes, you read that correctly, blue jeans!
When used as insulation, denim is environmentally safer than fiberglass and produces no harmful chemicals or skin irritants. Denim insulation has also proven to provide a quieter environment for patient rooms. Using recycled blue jeans throughout the 340,000-square-foot tower kept them out of landfills, which combined with other cotton textiles make up about five percent of North American landfills.
In fact, Summa Health has achieved the Melvin Creeley award four times since 2017, recognizing its efforts to promote sound environmental practices.
Here at SummaCare, we’re also doing our part to reduce the institution’s carbon footprint. We offer members paperless statements and Explanation of Benefits through our Plan Central member portal. We also are saving on paper by delivering members the latest health insurance news, benefits and updates on health and wellness through our e-newsletter and blog.
Through Plan Central, members can manage their health and wellness all online with 24-hour access to:
Members can set up their paperless options in Plan Central by clicking on “Paperless” in the top menu.
Together, we’re leading by example ways to preserve the health of our planet for our friends and neighbors—and future generations to come.