U.S. Naval Hospital (USNH) Yokosuka recently received the distinction of being selected as a 2014 Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Environmental Award Winner in the category of Environmental Quality for an Overseas Installation.

Presented annually, the CNO Environmental Awards Program recognizes Navy ships, installations, and people for outstanding performance in promoting environmental stewardship.

"This selection was based on our command's commitment to environmental stewardship and protection across our entire enterprise and covered numerous programs that included hazardous material management, medical waste reduction, recycling, and environmental awareness," said Capt. Glen C. Crawford, commanding officer, USNH Yokosuka. "The command's success in these areas could not have been accomplished without the tremendous teamwork effort displayed by our entire staff."

Aside from Environmental Quality, awards are presented for accomplishments in areas categorized as Natural Resources Conservation, Cultural Resources Management, Sustainability, Environmental Restoration, Environmental Excellence in Weapon System Acquisition, and Environmental Planning.

By presenting awards, the Navy recognizes organizations and people who have made significant contributions in environmental areas.

"The entire workforce at the hospital had a huge impact on receiving this award, because without every employees' engagement at the deck-plate level, there is no way we could have achieved any of our environmental targets," said Facilities Department Head, Lt. Jason Schechter. "The environmental team is responsible for giving recommendations, but it is the individual work centers who are the ones who really make things happen. Safety Department was also a key player in moving our hazardous materials (HAZMAT) storage program in the right direction, while the Environment of Care Committee lent considerable muscle to implementing the changes needed to achieve our goals."

Schechter felt that the award submission was a culmination of an entire year's worth of substantial progress within the command's environmental program, and that the most difficult hurdle from the beginning was to actively pursue the hiring of qualified civilian personnel who were environmental savvy, ensuring that adequate effort could be devoted to the environmental program.

"Last summer's triennial Joint Commission Survey also forced us to take a hard look at many aspects of our department," said Schechter. "We identified the issues over a year prior the survey, and implemented a clear plan to address them."

USNH Yokosuka's medical waste program was struggling to meet compliance prior to Fiscal Year 2014.

"Responsibility was split between multiple entities within the hospital itself," said Schechter. "Individual departments had oversight of collecting their own waste, while the Facilities Department had control of the program once the waste was deposited in a central accumulation point outside the hospital."

Each of the hospitals' departmental efforts to conduct waste management was done differently, and with that came inconsistencies which caused an assortment of issues. Once the entire program was consolidated under Facilities Department, ownership was established which, in turn, ensured clear guidance and proper procedures were followed.

The CNO Environmental Awards are the first of three levels within the Department of Defense (DoD) competition.

CNO winners are submitted for consideration in the Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV) Environmental Awards competition. Likewise, winners at the SECNAV level of competition are submitted to compete in the Secretary of Defense (SECDEF) Environmental Awards competition.

For more information on the CNO Environmental Awards program and each winners' environmental achievements, visit http://greenfleet.dodlive.mil/environment/awards.

For more news from U.S. Naval Hospital Yokosuka, visit www.navy.mil/.