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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
Here are two sample news stories as well as a brief description for each of Practice Greenhealth’s Environmental Excellence Awards. Feel free to use some or all of this content as you promote your win internally and externally. You can find additional resources, including award logos, on our website. If you have questions, please reach out to [email protected].
Sample news story 1
<Hospital name> recognized for its leadership on environmental sustainability
A focus on more sustainable operations supports healthier patients, staff, and communities
In recognition for its… Read More
Type: Resources
Award applications for different facility types
The Practice Greenhealth Environmental Excellence Awards provide recognition for health care organization members across the achievement spectrum.
Practice Greenhealth benchmarks three categories of facilities—based on whether they have overnight (staffed) beds or operating rooms within the facility.
Facility type 1: Facilities with overnight beds and ORs (typically acute care or critical access hospitals)
Facility type 2: Inpatient facilities without operating rooms, such as long-term care (LTC), psychiatric, orthopedic rehab, and… Read More
Type: Basic page
By Sarah Dalton, HonorHealth administrative fellow
Pursuing organizational sustainability can seem daunting – it is complex, takes time, and the upfront costs can feel like a barrier to entry. As an administrative fellow at HonorHealth, I worked with and learned from the organization’s sustainability committee, which has set out to prove that with the right tools and mindset, health care organizations can achieve sustainability goals while uncovering significant cost savings and giving back to their communities.
HonorHealth’s sustainability committee includes leaders from various… 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
By Kaeleigh Sheehan, Member Engagement and Greening the OR manager
“Globally, nationally, as a sector, we have to set higher standards, and be more mindful of our impact,” says Dr. Seema Gandhi, associate clinical professor of anesthesiology at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) Medical Center.
Gandhi says environmental stewardship has always played a prominent role in her daily life. Growing up in India, her parents reinforced mindfulness and only using what was needed. Naturally, she brought that mindset into her clinical practice, beginning with her medical training at… Read More
Type: Press
Challenge
Control Montefiore Health System and Medical Centers energy budget while increasing ROI through low-risk and diverse strategies and initiatives.
What Makes Montefiore Health System different from other hospitals and medical centers?
“Going green” and “sustainability” are trending words that we hear thrown around a lot today. More and more organizations claim that they are going green and reducing their carbon footprint. So, what makes Montefiore different? Montefiore has been producing and using sustainable energy since 1993, with new and ever-evolving innovative programs. But… Read More
Type: Press
Practice Greenhealth’s Healthy Interiors goal promotes public and environmental health and helps accelerate the transformation of the furnishings market to safer products.
What is Practice Greenhealth’s Healthy Interiors goal?
Ensure that 30% of the annual volume of furnishings and furniture purchases (based on cost) eliminate the use of formaldehyde, perfluorinated compounds, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), antimicrobials*, and all flame retardants**.
When chemical flame retardants are necessary to meet code requirements, use chemicals that meet GreenScreen Benchmark 3 or 4 or… Read More
Type: Resources
The health care industry is the only sector with health as its core mission. Open 24/7 and buzzing with high-tech, life-saving equipment, hospitals are incredibly energy-intensive facilities, consuming roughly 2.5 times more energy per square foot than a typical commercial office space.
While being used to save lives and improve patient health, this energy is often generated by the combustion of fossil fuels that contribute to pollution, disease, and climate change, which leads to numerous damaging health effects.
Globally, outdoor air pollution kills more than 4.5 million people each year… Read More
Type: Resources
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
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.