Sara Wohlford, MPH, RN

VSHE Sustainability Liaison 

Efficiency and Sustainability Program Manager, Carilion Clinic

Sara Wohlford is the Efficiency and Sustainability Program Manager for Carilion Clinic in Roanoke, Virginia where she facilitates and coordinates programs for the health care system that reduce inefficiencies and waste, and promote environmental sustainability.  After receiving a Master’s Degree in Public Health from Virginia Tech, Sara conceptualized and proposed her current position, created a work structure for sustainability for Carilion’s seven hospitals, developed the Carilion Clinic Environmental Stewardship Council, developed a program to donate thousands of pounds of excess medical supplies to support medical education as well as international missions.  She mobilized dozens of sustainability champions, green teams, and workgroups from multiple nursing units and departments within the system to help actualize the projects and goals for sustainability.  Her programs increase recycling, decrease energy utilization, decrease natural resource consumption, and divert tens of thousands of pounds of waste from Virginia landfills annually, while educating and demonstrating to staff, patients, and visitors the inextricable links between community health, environmental health, and sustainability. Her program received the 2019 Governor’s Environmental Excellence Award Gold Medal for improving the health and the environment in the State of Virginia.