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The surgical suite is one of the areas of greatest waste, energy, and supply impact within a hospital. Working to collect accurate operating room data is a strategic priority that can support reducing this department’s footprint. Greening the OR data touches supply chain, energy, waste, and anesthetics – to name a few.
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Mercury reduction policies are among the most common environmental commitments in health care. Mercury is toxic to human health, posing a particular threat to the development of the child. To target mercury reduction and elimination as a goal, hospitals and health systems first need to assess where mercury is found within their facilities, which might include:
Clinical devices, such as thermometers, sphygmomanometers, esophageal bougies and dilators, certain tubing, and dental amalgam
Facility equipment, such as switches, relays, thermostats, fluorescent lamps and light bulbs, and batteries… Read More
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Many products and materials that come into hospitals may contain or release carcinogens, reproductive toxins, or other hazardous materials, exposing patients, staff, and the community to harm. Purchased goods and services also account for a majority of the energy and water use by the sector. Participants meet to share best practices in engaging group purchasing organizations (GPO) and suppliers, integrating environmentally preferable purchasing (EPP) in value analysis, and identifying cost saving opportunities. Also, time is reserved during each session for participants to receive quick… Read More
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Practice Greenhealth is the nation's leading membership and networking organization for organizations in the health care community that has made a commitment to sustainable, environmentally preferable practices.
Health Care Without Harm partnered with the American Hospital Association, Environmental Protection Agency, and the American Nurses Association in September 2001 to create the Hospitals for a Healthy Environment (H2E) program. With funding from the EPA and assistance from HCWH, H2E hired core staff and began outreach efforts to the health care sector with a primary focus of getting… Read More
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(Greenhealth cost of ownership toolkit) Below are some common questions individuals may have when using the Greenhealth cost of ownership (GCO) calculator.
How can I choose which types of products to assess in the GCO calculator?
Where can I find data that I don't have?
How can I approach suppliers to ask for some of this data?
Which discount rate should I choose?
How can I convert from uses per patient to uses per year?
Does the calculator provide guidance on unit conversions?
What can I do if the results I get when using the tool are zero?
How can I interpret and communicate the… Read More
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By joining as an Industry Partner, we provide opportunities for organizations to access more in-depth information and resources, participate in higher-level opportunities, and obtain greater visibility in the health care sustainability space and the Practice Greenhealth network to meet their professional and business objectives.
If health care is everyone's business, then certainly transforming health care should be also. The challenges of environmental stewardship, climate health, and addressing the social determinants of health stand to benefit from the creativity and collective work of… 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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The use of certain chemical constituents in products and materials can have significant health repercussions for building occupants, patients, staff, and the community. Chemicals of concern can be found in cleaning and disinfection processes, medical devices, furniture and furnishings, and health care labs – to name a few. Identifying and quantifying these opportunity areas can support chemical minimization goals.
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Health care facilities offer healthier menus by working with farmers to purchase locally and sustainably grown products, reducing the amount of meat they purchase and serve, and going beyond their walls to help meet the food needs of their community. This cohort will provide partners a space to learn about new trends and technologies and collaborate with their peers on implementation strategies. Sessions will cover ways to improve the sustainability of food service operations and support healthy food access, local food economies, and resilient food systems.
Target audience: Sustainability… Read More
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Hospitals are environments for healing but many of the products and materials that come into a hospital may be harmful to patients, staff and those in the community. Some products used in health care may contain or release (during production, use or disposal) carcinogens, reproductive toxins, or other hazardous materials. Many of the chemicals used in products have not been adequately tested for toxicity. Additionally, there are a growing number of disposable products in health care and large amounts of packaging creating significant waste, and a variety of products that are energy or water-… 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 1,700 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.