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By Sarah Spengeman, Ph.D., Health Care Without Harm Climate and Health program associate director
Have you thought to yourself, “How can my hospital or system step up its climate leadership?” If so, Health Care Without Harm has plenty of ideas for you, including a great example from Inova. Practice Greenhealth member Inova Health System in Northern Virginia recently worked with Virginia Clinicians for Climate Action (VCCA) to host a half-day conference for clinicians on the health impacts of climate change.
“Our changing climate presents an opportunity for clinicians to leverage their… Read More
Type: Press
By Kaeleigh Sheehan, Member Engagement Manager, Greening the OR
Summer might be a time to slow down, relax, enjoy the longer sunshine hours, but for the Greening the OR team, the fun is just getting started! *That’s not really true, the Greening the OR fun has been going on for the last couple of years, I just wanted to start off with a cute saying. Here’s a recap:
GOR Resources
Practice Greenhealth collaborated with some key experts to provide guidance and respond to the many questions and confusion around HVAC setback as an energy reduction strategy in the operating room. If you haven’t… Read More
Type: Press
By John Strong Principal of John Strong, LLC and serves as president of Greenhealth Management
As you shake the sleep off, you realize that the sounds of your 12-year-old daughter’s latest asthma attack woke you. You determine immediately that this is going to require another trip to your local health care provider’s emergency room. When you pull up to the door of the emergency room, housed in a brand-new facility built by the largest integrator of care in your state, you feel palpable relief. There’s no wait—and soon a physician, nurses and others have her situation under control.
No one… Read More
Type: Press
By Hillary Greenwood
Thanks to increasing demand for poultry raised without routine antibiotics, cost reductions and improved availability have made it easier for hospitals to add more sustainably-raised chicken to their menus.
Health systems in the Practice Greenhealth and Health Care Without Harm network are purchasing up to 60 percent of their meat and poultry with these attributes.
Through purchasing, the health sector is looking to mitigate broader public health effects of the industrialized meat system.
“If you want to address food-borne illnesses, the underlying production practices… Read More
Type: Press
By Julie Moyle, MSN, RN Outreach and Engagement Specialist
General anesthesia administered during surgical/interventional procedures typically includes the administration of anesthesia gases. Only about 5 percent of administered anesthesia gas is metabolized by the patient, while the other 95 percent is expired by the patient during respiration. To protect personnel in the OR from being exposed to the anesthesia gas, a breathing circuit and dedicated HVAC vacuum line (usually purple in color) diverts or “scavenges” the unmetabolized waste anesthetic gas (WAG) from the patient and vents or… Read More
Type: Press
The Mayo Clinic in Rochester MN. Welcomed Hermine Levey Weston
By Hermine Levey Weston, RN MBA
My father, an oral surgeon, was what we nurses referred to as a “tough patient.” When hospitalized, I saw more than one surgical or anesthesia resident slink from his room when he demanded the “attending” physician. He complained about the food and being left alone for hours without medical or nursing attention. My mother and I did a whole lot of hand holding, eye rolling, and apologizing to his care givers.
He had a nasty kidney infection in his late eighties and he was cared for at the Mayo… Read More
Type: Press
Organizations To Align Efforts on Education & Training of Healthcare System Professionals
WASHINGTON, DC – April 26, 2017 – The Association of Climate Change Officers (ACCO) and Practice Greenhealth, organizations who have a common interest in advancing climate preparedness and sustainability in the healthcare sector, announced a partnership today that will advance their shared missions — to heighten the knowledge, skills, and professional growth of healthcare system professionals in the public and private sector.
Effective today, ACCO is providing a suite of climate science and… Read More
Type: Press
Most prestigious environmental achievement award recognizing sector’s top hospitals
(Reston, VA) — Practice Greenhealth, the nation’s leading nonprofit membership and networking organization for sustainable health care, has announced the winners of its annual Top 25 Environmental Excellence Awards.
The award recognizes 25 health care facilities that exemplify the best in environmental excellence, and the highest standards for environmental practices in health care.
“Each year, we see more health care facilities recognizing the link between environmental responsibility and health–and these… Read More
Type: Press
Hillary Greenwood, National Procurement Director, Health Care Without Harm, Healthy Food in Health Care Program
2016 was a momentous year for addressing routine antibiotic use and animal welfare in broiler chicken production. While many commitments were made in 2015 and earlier, 2016 was the year when retail, fast food, and food management sectors manifested these promises in a variety of ways. Restaurants have made particularly good progress in sourcing the chicken they serve from farmers who do not use antibiotics. By 2017, all chicken sold at Chipotle, McDonald’s, Panera Bread, and Subway… Read More
Type: Press
Each year, a growing number of Practice Greenhealth members participate in the Environmental Excellence Awards. It’s safe to say, the awards applications are a considerable undertaking, and require team participation, coaxing and follow-through in order to complete an award submission. Given the workload, why do hospitals continue to participate? Beyond the resulting recognition, how is the awards process adding value to hospitals’ sustainability journey?
Most hospitals submit a Partner for Change application. This comprehensive application covers ten topic areas and dives deeply into a… 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.
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.