Union Hospital in Elkton, MD, is among the first healthcare facilities in the country to use only cage-free eggs in its in-house dining operations, reports the Cecil Whig. According to a representative of the Humane Society of the United States quoted in the article, only about two dozen hospitals currently have such a policy.
Union joined the Balanced Menu Challenge of the Healthcare Without Harm movement back in 2007. The Challenge commits Union to a 20 percent reduction in its meat procurement within a 12-month period. The hospital gets its cage-free eggs in liquified form, paying about four cents more per ounce than for standard eggs.