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Hand hygiene remains one of the most critical infection prevention strategies in health care. However, common antimicrobial ingredients, such as triclosan and triclocarban, which are used widely in health care for hand hygiene, have also been shown to pose health risks to long-term users. Health care workers can wash or sanitize their hands in a single shift as many as 100 times according to CDC, leading to measurable exposures.
The Food and Drug Administration restricted the use of triclosan and 23 other ingredients in antiseptic washes and rubs for use in health care, effective December… Read More
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Hospitals care for and heal patients and also protect and promote community health. Sharing information about the risks and health impacts of our changing climate, with an emphasis on a hospital’s plans to address these challenges, is integral to a hospital’s healing mission and can provide the foundation for community-wide sustainability and resiliency efforts.
Gundersen Health System achieved energy independence in 2014 with renewable energy sourced from its community. Gundersen’s former CEO Dr. Jeff Thompson explained, “Our board saw the need to make an investment to take care of our… Read More
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Each year, Practice Greenhealth recognizes an array of health care organizations for their environmental achievements. Outlined below are the different categories of recognition a health care facility or health system can win in 2021.
Environmental Excellence Award
The Environmental Excellence Award recognizes health care facilities that continuously improve upon programs to address sustainable operations, reduce and recycle waste, lower energy and water use, source more sustainable products, and more. Winning facilities have developed successful sustainability programs in a variety of… Read More
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The Visionary Leader Award recognizes annually one senior-level health care executive who is making a significant contribution to health care sustainability through groundbreaking and innovative strategies, and mentorship. The winner will be a leader who has effectively advocated for and woven sustainability and environmental stewardship into health care operational excellence. Below are the past winners.
2019 Visionary Leader Award Winner
Alison Santore
Senior Vice President of Government Affairs and Social Responsibility
Providence
2019 Visionary Leader Award Winner
Barbara E. Tretheway… Read More
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Plant Powered 30 is a 30-day challenge to inspire your employees to choose a plant-forward meal once per day (and hopefully more!). Health Care Without Harm and Practice Greenhealth have created all the promotional materials you will need to run this fun and engaging challenge for your employees.
Plant Powered 30 is part of Plant-Forward Future, a curated set of resources from Practice Greenhealth, Health Care Without Harm, and our partners that will help health care facilities set a plant-forward goal, menu and market plant-forward dishes, and track their progress.
Have you run Plant… Read More
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Health care’s contributions to climate change also contribute to many of the diseases we care for, which stands in contrast to a hospital’s healing mission and commitment to “do no harm.” The U.S. health care sector’s greenhouse emissions make up 8.5% of the U.S. total, and American health care facilities emit more greenhouse gas than the entire United Kingdom.
It is imperative that health systems set a net-zero goal for no later than 2050 to limit global warming to 1.5° C and avoid the most catastrophic impacts of climate change.
Kaiser Permanente’s 2025 goals “raise the bar on… Read More
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Strong governance for sustainability programming in health care is paramount to success. Successful sustainability programming in any industry relies upon more than passion. Practice Greenhealth guides health care organizations to focus on the core elements of developing strong sustainability governance, including establishing sustainability documents, structures, and resourcing.
Our definition of sustainability governance
The systems through which an organization’s sustainability activities are directed, controlled, and held to account. Good governance is a crucial foundation for long-… Read More
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Hospitals need to remain operational during and after extreme weather events so people can get the medical care they need and communities can recover from disruption. As climate change leads to increases in the intensity, duration, and geographic reach of extreme weather such as heat waves, hurricanes, flooding, and fires, hospitals must make their facilities more resilient and work with their communities on emergency preparedness planning.
Partners HealthCare’s Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, located on a former brownfield site on the Boston harbor, was built with climate-resilient… Read More
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In addition to hospitals and health systems, outpatient care centers like ambulatory surgical centers (ASCs) and community health centers (CHCs) are making a positive impact from reducing energy use to diverting and reducing waste to sourcing more environmentally preferable products (EPP) and removing harmful chemicals from supply chains.
To help with these efforts, we offer affordable partnership levels to strengthen our collective impact.
Partner opportunities
ASC partner
ASC partnership is open to any outpatient surgery center that is committed to environmental sustainability. You'll… Read More
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The Destination CleanMed series featured discussions building momentum that culminated in Pittsburgh, May 23-25 for CleanMed 2023. Invite your colleagues, collaborators, and partners to view recordings these free events.
The psychology of climate change as a force for good
March 23, 2023 12:00 PM ET
The mental health impacts of climate change are profoundly felt by those working in health care and beyond. People living in historically underserved communities and people of color feel the effects exponentially and have been leading the environmental justice movement for decades. Pittsburgh… 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.
Who We Are
Practice Greenhealth is the leading sustainable health care organization, delivering environmental solutions to more than 1,500 hospitals and health systems in the United States and Canada. Partnership opportunities include hospitals, health systems, community health organizations, NGOs, nonprofits, government, academic institutions, and the health care value chain.