Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, May 20, 1990 TAG: 9005200184
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium
That's when nurses at the Henrico County hospital will begin tossing dirty diapers into a laundry hamper rather than a trash can.
Lynn Adkins, nurse manager for St. Mary's maternity services, said the hospital is making the switch for two reasons. One is environmental: Paper-plastic diapers, which take up to 500 years to decompose, clog landfills. She said hospital officials also believe cloth diapers are less irritating to babies' sensitive skin.
"Our primary interest is to set a good example for the community," Adkins said. "By using and sending babies home in disposable diapers, we [have been] subtly endorsing their use."
The switch, which has been planned for four months, gives the hospital "a chance to educate patients about the environment. . . . It also has made employees more aware," she said.
Cotton Tails Diaper Service, a new division of Hand Craft Cleaners Inc., will supply the diapers, as well as Velcro-encased cotton wraps, which hold the diapers in place without pins.
Adkins does not anticipate diaper-changing - done about every two hours with newborns - to be any more difficult or time-consuming with cloth diapers.
"As of now, the nurses and physicians have responded positively. They're happy St. Mary's can be a model," she said.
Some hospitals have grappled with the diaper dilemma in recent years after studies showed the environmental impact of throwaway diapers.
The University of Virginia Medical Center last year became one of the first major medical centers to discard disposable diapers and start using cloth ones.
Representatives of several Richmond-area hospitals said that although they have evaluated the issue, they have continued to use disposables, except in cases where babies develop allergic reactions.
The service will keep the cleaners busy. Last year, St. Mary's used 75,000 diapers for its 2,000 babies.
by CNB