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Hospitals have significant buying power as they are often one of the community’s largest consumers. By purchasing food and beverages that have earned trusted third-party certifications for quality and sustainable practices, hospitals can shift the entire food system toward sustainability, without significant cost increases to total food service spending. In many cases, this can be done through collaborative efforts with the health care supply chain and vendors, via tactics including:
Using purchase power to move away from detrimental food production practices like the overuse of antibiotics… Read More
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Health care institutions throughout the country recognize the urgent need to reduce rates of obesity and chronic illness as well as their associated health care costs.
Sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) contribute to the increased prevalence of obesity and associated chronic diseases that go along with weight gain. The production, consumption, and waste associated with sugar-sweetened and bottled beverages have numerous negative environmental consequences.
A better option for hydration and quenching thirst is water and in the United States, tap water has been proven to be just as safe, or… Read More
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[Plant-Forward Future] Diets that embrace plant-based proteins are trending for both health and environmental reasons. One in four consumers is eating less meat and roughly half of younger consumers and one-third of older people already regularly choose plant-based foods instead of meat. In the National Restaurant Association’s 2020 “What’s Hot” survey, plant-based proteins landed at number 2 in its top ten list, and according to the association’s forecast in the Restaurant Industry 2030 report, it is expected that plant-based proteins will continue to grow in popularity over the next decade… Read More
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Introduction
Increasing seafood purchases, is a solid strategy for reducing meat while promoting human and environmental health. However, the lack of transparency – along with seafood’s numerous health, environmental, and social justice concerns – make it a particularly difficult food group to navigate. This guide offers seafood procurement recommendations based on sustainability, nutrition, social, and animal welfare concerns.
This guide’s recommendations complement existing third-party certifications and inform day-to-day purchasing when sustainability labeling and information is… Read More
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Chefs and health care food professionals are reimagining hospital food’s potential one meal at a time. Using the health care setting to model healthier food choices and making more sustainable foods available to patients, employees, and visitors has many benefits including:
Improved health and well-being for patients, employees, and visitors
Increased reported satisfaction from both employees and patients on scoring measures
Enhanced employee productivity
Serving as a powerful recruitment tool and regional differentiator for attracting top talent to the hospital.
Greater food service… Read More
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A novel committee puts people experiencing food insecurity and professionals working to address food access on equal ground leading to innovative solutions.
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Environmentally sustainable businesses contribute to healthy ecosystems by improving soil health, increasing biodiversity, and reducing the carbon and water footprint of food production, while advancing public health and worker safety. Animal welfare encompasses all aspects of animals’ well-being, and high animal welfare is achieved when an animal’s physical, mental, and behavioral needs are met throughout its life. In this section, we outline purchasing best practices that address both environmental sustainability and high animal welfare.
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Practice Greenhealth’s 20 years of experience developing policy and programs for sustainable health care practices has guided our creation of tools and resources that empower hospitals to reduce both the costs and environmental impacts of caring for their community’s health needs.
Based on input from our members, we’ve made sure our resources capture the best practices and challenges at every stage of a program’s development and include practical guidance for:
Setting baselines
Identifying goals
Achieving stakeholder support
Implementing practice
Measuring and reporting results… Read More
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Impact starts with our partners — organizations that see a world where health care has a broader aim of healthy people, living in equitable and resilient communities, on a sustainable planet — taking action and creating lasting change.
Why join Practice Greenhealth?
Sustainability is a vital component of any health care organization’s strategic direction. When tied to business and mission-driven goals, sustainable programs have benefits for the financial bottom line, patient satisfaction and well-being, employee engagement, and the communities you serve.
The Practice Greenhealth network… Read More
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Join Practice Greenhealth
Practice Greenhealth is the health care sector’s go-to source for information, tools, data, resources, and expert technical support on sustainability initiatives that help hospitals and health systems meet their health, financial, and community goals.