Blog
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Creating a Culture of Sustainability
April 12th, 2012 - 7:37 pmBlogWe all know that sustainability in health care has financial rewards and creates jobs. According to a new report issued by the Health Care Research Collaborativecalled “Creating a Culture of Sustainability: Leadership, Coordination and Performance Measurement Systems in Healthcare,there are three key drivers to a successful program: 1) there must be an executive champion, or advocate, 2) sustainability values must be reflected in the...
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Linking Healthy Hospitals with Healthy Communities and a Healthy Planet
March 26th, 2012 - 8:23 amBlogBy Gary Cohen, President and Founder, Health Care Without Harm.
Last week a coalition of eleven hospital systems and partnering health groups launched a new campaign to challenge the entire healthcare sector to embed sustainability into the core operating model of 21st century health care. The Healthier Hospitals Initiative (www....
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Health Care Sector on Path to Sustainability and Beyond
March 17th, 2012 - 5:09 pmBlogBy Laura Wenger, RN, Executive Director, Practice Greenhealth
As sustainability increasingly becomes an important issue to the health care sector, Practice Greenhealth has led the movement to implement sustainable operations in hospitals and its supporting community. Practice Greenhealth is pleased to be working with more than 1200member hospital on their sustainability initiatives. Yet, we believe that there are...
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Poco a Poco – Sharing Jaibon, Dominican Republic – Janet Brown
March 16th, 2012 - 8:47 amBlogTwo weeks ago, my daughter Franni and I (along with two other moms and their 8th grade girls) embarked on a volunteer trip to Jaibon, Dominican Republic through a not for profit— Outreach 360. We spent the week teaching English to children aged kindergarten through sixth grade and worked on a project associated with a boy’s orphanage that homed 22 amazing boys. The school principal and orphanage founder were one in the same – “La...
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Become a Change Agent
February 15th, 2012 - 1:31 amBlogChange for the good is something we should all strive for. A change agent is someone who "alters human capability or organizational systems to achieve a higher degree of output or self actualization."
What does this mean in a health care setting? We want to make changes that stick, that result in enabling staff to do more.
A change agent holds a vision of what could be and uses that as their driving force. They aren’t...
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Spreading the Word
January 11th, 2012 - 4:44 pmBlogAs stewardship programs mature, communication and marketing departments are joining with Green Teams to strategize about how to communicate stewardship activities to staff, patients and the community. Effective communication and engagement strategies can extend the commitment beyond the walls of the organization, into the community and into homes. Engaging people individually can help them become champions of organizational goals. While...
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Leadership Inspires
December 17th, 2011 - 4:58 pmBlogHealth care leadership can often describe the moment they had their personal “AHA!” moment around health care environmental stewardship and the role leadership can play in transforming to a culture of environmental excellence. It’s the moment they realized that going green is more than a blue bin by the copier, more than carrying a reusable shopping bag or driving a Prius. Those are all important components, but the AHA! moment pulled it all...
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BLOG: Data, Normalizers and Benchmarks—OH MY!
November 22nd, 2011 - 3:26 pmBlogWe are all familiar with baseline data collection, goal setting and performance measurement. We use measurable goals for joint commission, for green team progress, quality improvement and more. Environmental stewardship and “going green” can be measured both qualitatively and quantitatively, and the Practice Greenhealth 3rd Annual Sustainability Benchmark Report is the “go to” source for sustainability benchmarks in health care....
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BLOG: The Balance ... the dance ... oops, was that your foot?
November 12th, 2011 - 11:49 amBlog"May I have this dance?" versus dancing alone, in the dark!
Pushing for environmental improvement in the complex health care (or any) setting takes a special kind of person. Most are passionate, firmly committed, enthusiastic and energetic. Pushy? Most likely! We want to get things done by any means necessary! But, like Mick says,” You can’t always get what you want.” Doors shut, resistance ensues and some...
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Practice Greenhealth is Greening the Supply Chain
October 10th, 2011 - 11:51 amBlogYesterday, I attended the Health Industry Group Purchasing Association (HIGPA) annual conference. A few really exceptional things happened. First, HIGPA announced their new name – Healthcare Supply Chain Association (HSCA). Congratulations to the new HSCA on the exciting opportunities ahead of you!
Second, Practice Greenhealth announced the launch of the Standardized Environmental Questions for Medical...
