• Gabrielle Olinchic
• Gus Kious
• Diane Kurtzman
  

Champion: Gabrielle Olinchic, Huron Hospital
Nominated by: Mike Dungan, BIE
When it comes to managing a waste reduction program that yields tangible results and demonstrates continued growth and economic benefit, there is no better example to look to in NE Ohio than the work of Gabriele Olinchic, Materials Manager for Huron Hospital of the Cleveland Clinic Healthcare System. Starting with a simple collection box effort to collect and sort waste generated by the hospital, Gabriele was able to develop a program that reduced bulk trash output and associated costs dramatically by diverting materials to local recyclers rather than opting for the traditional method of disposal; the landfill. Imagine for a moment how much packaging, paper, clinical supplies, worn equipment, plastic products, and food / beverage residue a large urban hospital generates as waste on a daily basis! Now imagine how many of those items can be re-purposed and recycled rather than being disposed of out of hand. The positive impact Gabriele Olinchic and the Huron Hospital staff have had on the environment, the institution’s bottom line, and the local economy through their mindset of recycle everything can now be measured in tonnage and dollars. And just as important is the impact that Huron’s successful waste equals revenue model carries as an example for peer institutions within the Cleveland Clinic Healthcare System as well as healthcare providers at large.
But the effort to transform Huron Hospital into a fully sustainable institution does not begin and end with a comprehensive waste reduction effort for this long established healthcare provider in East Cleveland. Through Gabriele’s guidance, the Huron Hospital Green Team has identified new opportunities to reduce the institution’s environmental footprint that include facility wide energy savings measures, influence on the hospital’s supply chain for sustainable goods and services, and a formal education program for staff. Several notable strategies now underway include an effort to begin replacing several hundred aging business machines (printers/copiers/faxes) with energy efficient all-in-one machines. A more environmentally responsible cleaning and maintenance program for the Huron facility is also in development, a tricky challenge due to the special requirements that modern healthcare facilities must adhere to for managing infectious disease.
It is for these reasons, and other examples too numerous to illustrate in this limited space, that I cheerfully nominate Gabriele Olinchic from Huron Hospital as a 2006 Champion of Sustainability.

Champion: Gus Kious, Huron Hospital
Nominated by: Adele DiMarco Kious & Sally Parker, Currere
Gus Kious, MD has been an administration executive with the Cleveland Clinic Health System for 10 years. Almost half that time he paid a lot of attention to waste reduction from an operations perspective; reducing supplies, managing inventory more effectively, etc. When he became the Chief Administration Officer for Huron Hospital in East Cleveland in 2004, he took his focus on waste in an additional direction. As a resident of Cleveland Heights, he spent each Sunday evening sorting recyclable glass, paper, plastic, etc from his home for city curbside pick up. He wondered, “Why can’t we do this in our hospital too?” Through the assistance of his son and daughter-in-law, he was connected to local non-profits Entrepreneurs for Sustainability and The Cleveland Green Building Coalition. After meeting with these organizations, he became more aware of the connections between health, indoor air quality, and choices for paint, flooring and carpets. With a desire to implement new waste reduction and healthy product practices, he assigned a group of his middle management team to E4S’s Sustainability Implementers Group.
With the leadership of this team, the hospital has reduced their solid waste by 50% and now uses low-VOC paints, carpets and flooring for all projects, at little to no price difference. Dr. Kious is also seeking to replace his aged heating system with an energy efficient system and is even exploring the possibilities of a green roof for one of his buildings.
“One of the best outcomes of this process has been to see the faces and excitement of my middle management implementation team”, Kious shared. “They feel good about their choices they are making about the floors, the carpets and the paints and as a result have an increased sense of pride in our hospital. They also see how it benefits both the hospital and the community. The waste reduction mentality is carrying over to other aspects of the business as well. As a result, Huron Hospital has one of the best supply costs rates in the whole Cleveland Clinic System. And, they continue to look for new improvements. Everybody wins. ”
This year, Huron Hospital was recognized by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and invited to a national conference on Green Hospitals. As a poor, inner city hospital, their work in sustainability was especially inspiring to attendees.

Champion: Diane Kurtzman, Kurtz Bros.
Nominated by: Bill Doty, Doty & Miller Architects
During the past four years, Kurtz Bros., Inc.’s Diane Kurtzman, has undertaken a personal mission to promote sustainability. As Marketing Coordinator for Kurtz Bros., the goal is always just as our tagline and mission statement proclaim – “to make the good earth better!” “I am excited about the future of green in Cleveland! The green movement seems to be gaining speed daily and I am happy our company can be a part of it.” says Diane.
Kurtz Bros. is a family owned company and has been a leader in the manufacturing of soil-related and sustainability products for over sixty years. Over these years, the company has grown from just a topsoil provider to much, much more. Every endeavor Kurtz embarks on contains a beneficial re-use component. Whether it is mulch made from shredded bark of storm damage trees or pallets, aggregates from construction and demolition debris, compost from municipal water, or bioretention soil with spent sand for raingardens/bioswales, Kurtz knows how to close the loop. In the late 80’s and 90’s Kurtz began exploring beneficial reuse of foundry sand and was first in Ohio to be granted beneficial reuse permits (see attached case study for details). Today, they are happy to be working closely with municipalities on rainwater runoff solutions. They work with the Soil and Water Conservation groups in both Cleveland and Columbus areas and have been working diligently to promote bioretention swales and raingardens. (KB Bioretention Soil -the perfect blend for bioretention swales and raingardens). Kurtz employees at their RKDF Landfill site in Brooklyn Heights are lessoning the load on burgeoning landfills-sorting metals, brick and other construction/demolition debris has become much easier with the recent addition of new, MFV sorting machinery at the site.
Specialty soils such as urban soils, green roof mixes, stormwater management solutions are all upcoming additions to Kurtz already focused environmental sustainability initiatives as they look forward to continuing efforts to, as their tagline reads, “make the good earth better!”