HONOREE SIZE & INDUSTRY: Enterprise – Healthcare

Texan by Nature is excited to recognize Texas Health Resources in the 2020 TxN 20. Texas Health Resources was also recognized in the 2019 TxN 20 for their efforts in conservation and sustainability that positively impact Texas’ communities, economic prosperity, and natural resources. Read their 2019 write-up. 

COMPANY OVERVIEW 

Texas Health Resources (Texas Health) is one of the largest faith-based nonprofit health systems in the U.S. and the largest in North Texas in terms of patients served. Texas Health is headquartered in Arlington, Texas, and has a team of more than 24,000 employees across 28 hospitals — acute care, short stay, rehabilitation, and transitional care facilities — that are owned, operated or joint-ventured with Texas Health. The system also has more than 350 community access points through physician offices, behavioral health facilities, and surgery, imaging and fitness centers. Texas Health strives to improve the health of people in the communities it serves and aims to operate sustainably through operational effectiveness, innovative care, and a high-performing culture. Texas Health strives to be mindful of its footprint, implementing constant sustainability efforts, and consistently looking for ways to improve.  

SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS STRATEGY

Conservation of resources is vital to Texas Health’s long-term sustainability and to the well-being of the people living in the communities they serve. As a health system, conservation is much more than simply using less energy and water. It’s about providing the most affordable, accessible, and appropriate resources that improve people’s health. Not only is conservation about making strategic investments to operate more efficiently and consume fewer materials, but it is also about reducing health disparities, addressing social determinants of health, and improving the health outcomes for North Texans who have limited resources – or none at all.

As a High Reliability Organization, Texas Health works to reduce any strain on both the natural and manmade resources it depends on to succeed. Only through prudent management can Texas Health lower operating expenses and the cost of care, achieve community health improvement goals, implement innovative business practices, and reduce the potential for harm for generations to come.

EMPLOYEE LEADERSHIP

Texas Health’s resource conservation is governed by the Texas Health Resources Board of Trustees and senior leadership team. Each employee, however, also is responsible for managing resources wisely – whether that entails managing procurement, utilization, reuse or recycling; advocating for policies and legislation that conserve fiscal resources; or spearheading initiatives that provide more affordable health services and access to services for people in need.  

At Texas Health, oversight of its high reliability initiative, clinical care, quality and safety, financial well-being, environmental conservation efforts, community service, and serving the underserved in their communities span many areas of their organization. Many departments are focused on ensuring that they meet the health and well-being needs of the people in its communities in the most holistic, safe, and efficient ways possible.

As part of Texas Health’s Community Time Off (CTO) program and through the support of their Community Affairs Department, employees can volunteer – on paid time – at any 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization within our 16-county service area up to eight to 12 hours annually. The goal is to bring all parts of the community together and support an environment in which everyone can prosper and reach their highest potential. Texas Health’s employees volunteer more than 11,000 hours annually through CTO. Texas Health employees volunteer for more than 700 projects annually through CTO, about 30% of which are for environmental projects such as tree planting, work in community gardens and park and neighborhood cleanup projects with groups such as Great American Cleanup or home construction and improvement projects with organizations such as Habitat for Humanity and 6 Stones Mission Network. In 2019, employees volunteered a record-breaking 11,305 hours to complete 715 service projects.

In 2020, Texas Health ranked No. 15 on the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For® list as well as No. 1 for the sixth consecutive year on Fortune’s Best Workplaces in Healthcare and Biopharma. Texas Health is also ranked on Fortune’s Best Workplaces for Millennials, Best Workplaces for Women and Best Workplaces for Diversity lists, and on the 2019 People Companies that Care list.

CONSERVATION PROGRAMS

Sustainable Infrastructure & Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle Efforts

Texas Health proactively seeks ways to reduce waste and optimize efficiency within its hospitals that are operating 24/7 and many of its other buildings that are open several days a week. Not only does this save money, but it also reduces impacts to human health and the environment. 

Texas Health incorporates efficiency into new building design, retrofits, and upgrades older equipment, lighting, and other operational systems to reduce expenses and carbon emissions. To monitor energy consumption and identify reduction opportunities, building engineers conduct regular energy audits in their facilities. 

To help sustain the water needs of a growing North Texas population, Texas Health conserves its water use through low-flow toilets, waterless urinals, and water-efficient irrigation and operational systems. Texas Health conserved 80.55 million gallons of water during the last five years, enough to fill 131.6 Olympic-sized pools.

Texas Health strives to think ahead when it comes to conservation. For example, when building and facility engineers began designing Texas Health Frisco, a 325,000-square-foot, 80-bed acute care hospital that opened in December 2019, they visualized an environmentally friendly health campus that optimized water conservation. They installed an efficient irrigation system, collected rainfall and air conditioning condensation, and built an underground retention pond that naturally filters runoff. Frisco gets more rain than much of Texas, about 45 inches annually, and these measures will likely save 500,000 gallons of water and reduce utility costs by more than $50,000.

Additionally, Texas Health shows its commitment to conservation and sustainability through the following on-going efforts that positively impact people, economic prosperity, and natural resources:

• Participation in the North Texas Healthcare Laundry Cooperative, allowing Texas Health to wash linens using 50% less water, chemicals, and energy than traditional laundry services. The facility uses the Omni System which dissolves organic materials from water through an enhanced oxidation process, allowing reuse of water that was previously unusable. This system, along with new, advanced technology in tunnel washers has reduced water consumption by 21,879,000 gallons annually. 
• Use of thermal ice storage tanks to significantly reduce energy consumption needed for cooling. The system creates and stores ice during the night when electricity usage and rates are lower. Through a melting process, the ice is used for cooling during the hottest part of the day when electricity usage is at its highest. As a result, Texas Health often turns off power chillers, saving a tremendous amount of money.  
• Keeping wastewater and stormwater discharge from exceeding local and state limits and routinely inspecting and testing water delivery systems as required by code. Texas Health also monitors long-term water availability by staying apprised of restrictions, forecasts, and storage capabilities.
• Texas Health annually invests millions in projects that improve efficiency, lower natural gas, and water consumption, enhance technology that reduces the use of paper and other materials and supplies. Despite significant system growth annually in recent years, the system has curtailed energy consumption by 2.56% over the last five years, saving more than $15 million. It invested nearly $2.4 million in efficiency projects in 2019. 
• Diversion of hundreds of thousands of pounds of materials, including medical devices and single-use products, from landfills through recycling, reusing, or reprocessing initiatives. In 2018 alone, Texas Health recycled 1.9 million pounds of single-use materials and devices, altogether avoiding $750,000 in disposal costs.
• Participating in a group purchasing organization to source better, healthier, and environmentally friendly products at a lower price.
•  Launching a five-year, $500 million cost-cutting campaign to maximize efficiencies and preserve capital. 

Blue Zones Project® Fort Worth (BZP) 

Texas Health’s Blue Zones Project® Fort Worth (BZP)* is working with the city of Fort Worth, the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce, and numerous other city and county governments and community partners to increase health and well-being in the city’s neighborhoods through a multitude of efforts. Among those is the land development for urban agriculture and park revitalization. BZP is the primary driver in creating Fort Worth’s Urban Agriculture Ordinance, allowing vacant lots to be converted to urban farms without rezoning and policy amendments allowing more farmers markets, which are necessary to distribute the produce grown in the urban farms. BZP is also involved in park revitalization efforts and the city’s active transportation plan designed to improve sidewalks, trails, and bike lanes. (* Blue Zones Project® Fort Worth is a program of North Texas Healthy Communities, an arm of Texas Health Resources and a separate 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.)

From instituting policies that promote well-being to encouraging local schools, businesses, restaurants, and community leaders to adopt healthy behaviors, it is estimated that more than 200,000 people benefit from lifestyle improvements through Blue Zones-approved organizations every day. Today, Fort Worth is the largest certified Blue Zones® Community in the country. 

Texas Health’s next objective is to help Fort Worth become the healthiest metropolitan city in the nation. In doing so, the BZP will deepen its relationships and engagement with more than 350 participating organizations and 91,000 individuals. The project also will offer targeted support to people living in high-need neighborhoods as identified by its Community Health Needs Assessment. For example, the BZP project team is working with community partners to create a more just, equitable food system. They became an agency of the Tarrant Area Food Bank, which allows them to establish food pantries with a fresh produce requirement. In 2019, BZP opened two healthy food pantries within the Fort Worth Independent School District. 

Supply Chain Services Expansion

Texas Health Supply Chain Services (THSCS) launched in 2015 as a for-profit subsidiary to help non-acute care providers and small organizations make their supply chains more efficient, affordable, and reliable. Participants receive access to Texas Health’s discounted purchasing contracts, robust materials management information system, and operational expertise. 

To accelerate innovation in healthcare cost management, Premier Inc., a national healthcare improvement company, became a joint venture member in THSCS in 2019 to drive cost reduction and efficiencies in the sourcing of high-quality purchased services and physician preference items in other healthcare organizations. 

Through its Connected Health and Well-being initiative, Texas Health also continues to improve care efficiency through digital offerings that allow for convenient, quality care. Two new offerings are Hospital2Home and DispatchHealth, both of which improve efficiencies, reduce costs, and provide high-quality care without patients having to leave their homes.

BUILDING A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE

Moving into the future, Texas Health is committed to seeking new opportunities for conserving resources in all areas of their business and community operations.

For example, as a member of a group purchasing organization, Texas Health sources high-quality equipment, medical supplies, and environmentally friendly products at a lower price. In 2019, Texas Health saved $32 million in procurement costs for their supply chain. To stimulate regional economic growth, the system also purchases locally when feasible, and from minority and women-owned enterprises. In 2019, Texas Health awarded roughly $10 million in contracts with minority and women-owned businesses. 

Texas Health’s vendors must comply with laws and regulations, abide by their business practices, and meet their cost, quality, safety, and satisfaction standards. Texas Health annually evaluates their vendors’ performance on approximately 30 criteria including cost, quality, responsiveness, and assurance of supply; and steps they take to reduce environmental and social impacts. If improvements are needed, Texas Health helps create action plans. If they see little change in resolving issues, Texas Health may terminate a contract. 

TEXAN-LED CONSERVATION

Today, Texas Health serves more than 7 million residents in 16 counties in North Texas and employs more than 24,000 people who call this region their home. Texas Health has a vested interest in improving the health and well-being of the North Texas community because this is where its own employees live, work, and play. Protecting North Texans’ financial, emotional, mental, and physical well-being is Texas Health’s calling. It takes great pride in the Lone Star State and in its role as a healthcare leader.

Texas Health’s history is rooted in the healing ministries of the Presbyterian Church and the United Methodist Church. It’s faith-based heritage and traditions are at the heart of everything it does. Texas Health was formed in 1997 after combining the operations of three highly respected organizations into one health care system: Harris Methodist Health System in Fort Worth, Presbyterian Healthcare Resources in Dallas, and Arlington Memorial Hospital.

Learn more about how Texas Health cares for their environment.

Definitions:

– High Reliability Organizations are organizations that operate in complex, high-hazard domains for extended periods without serious accidents or catastrophic failures. The concept of high reliability is attractive for health care, due to the complexity of operations and the risk of significant and even potentially catastrophic consequences when failures occur in health care.