SEATTLE – (March 18, 2015) — Virginia Mason has received the Gold Commute Award from Seattle's Commute Trip Reduction (CTR) program.
Virginia Mason earned the award by distinguishing itself through reductions in drive-alone commuting by its team members, outstanding transportation benefits offered to its employees, and participation in the CTR program.
The Seattle Department of Transportation sponsored the CTR Champion Awards to recognize employers that support travel options that help keep the economy thriving while protecting the environment. Virginia Mason was one of 10 Seattle organizations to win the Gold Commute Award.
The CTR program began at Virginia Mason in 1997 and it has been so successful that 76 percent of its eligible team members use alternative transportation (i.e., buses, bicycles, etc.) when traveling to and from the health system’s Seattle campus.
In 2013, Virginia Mason was named one of the 50 greenest hospitals in the nation by Becker’s Hospital Review in recognition of its EnviroMason initiatives to reduce energy consumption and protect the environment.
About Virginia Mason
Virginia Mason, founded in 1920, is a nonprofit regional health care system in Seattle that serves the Pacific Northwest. Virginia Mason employs about 6,000 people and includes a 336-bed acute-care hospital; a primary and specialty care group practice of more than 460 physicians; regional medical centers throughout the Puget Sound area; and Bailey-Boushay House, the first skilled-nursing and outpatient chronic care management program in the U.S. designed and built specifically to meet the needs of people with HIV/AIDS. Benaroya Research Institute at Virginia Mason is internationally recognized for its breakthrough autoimmune disease research. Virginia Mason was the first health system to apply lean manufacturing principles to health care delivery to eliminate waste, lower cost, and improve quality and patient safety.
To learn more about Virginia Mason, please visit Facebook.com/VMcares or follow @VirginiaMason on Twitter. To learn how Virginia Mason is transforming health care and to join the conversation, visit our blog at VirginiaMasonBlog.org.
Media Contact:
Gale Robinette
Virginia Mason Media Relations
(206) 341-1509
gale.robinette@VirginiaMason.org