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We recognize the burden our community is under. Many of you are on the front lines of this unfolding crisis caring for people with COVID-19. From all the staff at Practice Greenhealth and Health Care Without Harm, thank you for your tireless work during this unprecedented time. We have heard countless stories of hope, community, and compassion from across the health care sector. We are all humbled and inspired by you.
Supporting our health care partners remains our priority. At a time when there are few answers, we welcome you to share your thoughts and challenges so we may begin a dialogue… Read More
Type: Press
University of Chicago Health staff went above and beyond when they tackled the ever-growing pile of blue wrap coming out of their surgery department. Challenged with luke-warm recycling markets, Amber Kratochvil, operating room associate director, and a group of OR nurses came up with an innovative idea that both reduces waste and helps their community.
When they presented the idea to the unit-based council (UBC), UBC chair Heather Renken ran with it, establishing a team to start saving all disposable blue wrap that sterile trays come in when they arrive at operating rooms from sterile… Read More
Type: Press
April 22 is the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, and this year’s theme is climate action. There is no better time to raise our collective voice and show the world how health care leads on climate to protect health. No matter what your role may be in health care, you can inspire others with your passion and climate leadership.
"The life of every child born today will be profoundly affected by climate change. Without accelerated intervention, this new era will come to define the health of people at every stage of their lives."2019 Lancet Countdown Report
Before/On Earth Day: Tell the world… Read More
Type: Press
Plant-forward is here to stay
Hospitals throughout the nation are serving less meat and a plethora of gourmet plant-forward meals that would be could be found in the menu at a high-end, trendy restaurant. As Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York discovered, this strategy satisfies customer demand while meeting patient health and environmental goals. They are not alone. Fifty-eight percent of facilities in our network reduced the amount of meat they purchased for cafeteria and patient service, according to data from the most recent Practice Greenhealth Environmental Excellence… Read More
Type: Press
Our cars, our health
The American Lung Association’s 19th annual “state of the air” report found that 134 million Americans – more than 41% – lived in counties with unhealthy levels of either ozone or particulate pollution in 2014-2016. In a country with over 270 million vehicles, America’s air suffers from tailpipe pollution. Health impacts of air pollution include asthma and respiratory illness, heart disease and stroke, cancer, low birth weights due to reproductive toxicants, premature death, and traffic morbidity and mortality. In Massachusetts, where one in 11 people already suffer from… Read More
Type: Press
By Scott Rich, Practice Greenhealth marketing and growth associate director
Over the summer months and into autumn, I had the opportunity to get up close and personal with Practice Greenhealth partners, prospects, and advisory services clients out on the road in Idaho, Utah, Missouri, Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan.
Here are a few highlights from “the road:”
University of Utah Health (Salt Lake City)
The University of Utah Health system is one of the newest partners in the Practice Greenhealth network and quite possibly the most excited. In addition to the professional hospital staff, the… Read More
Type: Press
Ready to amp up your sales and customer satisfaction while simultaneously reducing your environmental impact? Then the Health Care Culinary Contest – which opens October 1 – is the perfect addition to your sustainability work. This year’s contest builds off the growing popularity of plant-forward meal options, which require less water and land to produce, have a significantly lower carbon footprint, and have a variety of health benefits.
Engage your culinary professionals in the Health Care Culinary Contest to get recognized at CleanMed in Orlando.
Learn more
Type: Press
By Shanda Demorest, Practice Greenhealth member engagement manager
The ask. Long before I joined Practice Greenhealth in May 2019, Karoline Sperling at Park Nicollet Methodist Hospital in St. Louis Park, Minn., heard I was a nurse looking to talk about climate change with whomever I could. Fast-forward several months to August, when we reconnected around the ask, which had blossomed to speak about environmental sustainability in health care, the health impacts of climate change, and what people in the infection prevention specialty can do about it. Complex indeed. Fortunately, this… Read More
Type: Press
Long commutes. Congested roads. No available parking. These are familiar headaches for staff, patients, and administration at almost every hospital and health care facility, including St. John’s Medical and Living Center in Jackson, Wyo. A parking space there costs $10,000 per year to manage and maintain. Instead of building additional parking spaces, the hospital chose instead to pay their employees to “liberate their parking space” from May through September 2018.
“We set a goal to reduce the employee drive-alone rate 3% over the summer months,” explains Lisa Smith, the facility's… Read More
Type: Press
New report provides first-ever estimate of health care’s global climate footprint, calls for zero emissions
If the global health care sector were a country, it would be the fifth-largest greenhouse gas emitter on the planet, according to Health care’s climate footprint: How the health sector contributes to the global climate crisis and opportunities for action, a new report by Health Care Without Harm in collaboration with Arup.
Establishing the first-ever estimate of health care’s global climate footprint, the report finds health care’s footprint is equivalent to 4.4% of global net… Read More
Type: Press
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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.