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Spokane hospital employees and environmental managers will gather next Tuesday at a meeting to learn new techniques for creating safer, more ecologically friendly medical surroundings.

Managing toxic chemicals, reducing waste, improving regulatory compliance, reducing energy use and making safer purchases are among topics to be discussed at the Hospital and Clinical Waste Reduction and Management Conference.

The program is set from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture, 2316 W. First Ave.

Jointly sponsored by the Washington Department of Ecology and the Washington State Hospital Association, the conference is a continuation of a program that began in 2005 and won a Champion for Change award from the advocacy group Hospitals for a Healthy Environment.

H2E is a national, voluntary organization that helps health-care facilities improve safety, reduce waste and disposal costs and promote environmental stewardship, organizers said.

Hospitals are signed up as “Partners for Change” and pledge to virtually eliminate mercury in their organizations.

In Spokane, those hospitals include Deaconess Medical Center, Valley Hospital and Medical Center and the Spokane Veterans Administration Medical Center.

For more information about the conference, visit the Web site: www.ecy.wa.gov/mercury/hospitals/workshop.html.

ACS offers Youth Advocate of the Year Award

Young people who work hard to stop smoking among their friends and in the community are eligible to apply for the Youth Advocate of the Year Award offered by the American Cancer Society.

The award recognizes one top student leader in Washington who has made a significant contribution to tobacco control efforts or to school health and nutrition issues, said Shannon Morse-Freese, community relations manager.

Applications are due Oct. 13. The winner will be the cancer society’s youth role model for the year and will be invited to help plan and participate in a variety of events. The winner also will receive $250 to use for advocacy efforts.

For an application or more information, contact Morse-Freese at (509) 242-8301.

Asuris donates $20,000 to Pumpkin Ball

Asuris Northwest Health has donated $20,000 to support the third annual Pumpkin Ball, which benefits the Sacred Heart Children’s Hospital and the Vanessa Behan Crisis Nursery, organizers said.

The ball, scheduled for Oct. 21, at Spokane’s new convention center, is expected to raise more than $120,000 for the hospital and crisis nursery, according to Heidi Cook, executive director of the crisis nursery.

The black-tie evening event features a pumpkin-carving contest involving teams made of up of area doctors and business leaders. The ball, which draws about 600 people, brings together members of the medical, business and civic communities from the region to raise money for children. The evening also features a dinner and wine auction.