Kaiser Permanente staff show off green thumbs

On the north side of Kaiser Permanente’s Elk Grove Promenade Medical Office Building, tomatoes and peppers are cropping up for harvest by members of the medical team. Several employees there have been running their own garden for almost two years.

Perhaps the green thumb is contagious.

Kaiser Permanente South Sacramento employees are now ready to grow, thanks to a newly designed employee garden at the medical center, which was unveiled last week.

Staff had the opportunity to apply for a plot in the garden, one where they can grow their own fruits, vegetables and herbs.

At an Earth Day event, Patricia Rodriguez, Senior Vice President and Area Manager, said, “We had an overwhelming response. More than 90 physicians and employees were interested in maintaining their own plot in the garden.”

Employees who were awarded plots will reap the rewards of what their gardens grow. They just commit to tend to plant and maintain their plot at the medical center as if it was at their own home.

This isn’t the only way Kaiser Permanente in the south area has gone green, and those efforts are getting some national recognition.

Kaiser Permanente South Sacramento was just awarded the 2013 “Partner for Change” Award by Practice Greenhealth, the nation’s leading health care membership community that empowers its members to increase their efficiencies and environmental stewardship while improving patient safety and care. The award is one of the organization’s Environmental Excellence Awards given each year to honor outstanding environmental achievements in the health care sector.

The south Sacramento area, which includes Elk Grove, also has a Green Team; it’s a committed group of employees who not only implemented the new garden, but also started waste reduction programs like composting and recycling.

In 2012 alone, Kaiser Permanente South Sacramento achieved a 40 percent recycling goal, collecting more than 600 tons of paper recycling, four tons of reusable devices and a half ton of cafeteria food compost.

“We take pride in developing programs to improve the health of our patients, staff and community,” said Deborah Royalty, Medical Group Administrator, Kaiser Permanente South Sacramento.