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Christopher Bodkin, Data Coordinator Sector Performance and Recognition
Waste from the health care sector is significant:
255 Million lbs. of blue wrap is thrown away annually.
Businesses are turning blue wrap into products for hospitals.
Hospitals are creating blue wrap recycling programs.
Health care waste generation can be turned around to develop products promote environmental and economic health.
Historically, business success has been measured by making money, by boundless growth through linear consumption of resources and exploitation of environmental capital. Times are… Read More
Type: Press
Practice Greenhealth’s 2019 Visionary Leader Award winner Barbara Tretheway arrived at HealthPartners in 2000 wanting to make a difference at work and in the community.
As general counsel, much of her focus was on governance, including helping to ensure the board of directors was governing the health care organization in the most efficient and impactful way possible.
“Every corporation whether for profit or not for profit is a citizen of the community that they live in and is judged in many societal ways. ‘Are you proud that they are in your community, or are they harming your… Read More
Type: Press
Health care is a huge generator of waste materials. While some wastes are difficult to avoid, many waste types can be reduced, and others can be recovered and recycled. This employee education presentation focuses on the best ways to reduce, reuse, recycle, and properly dispose of waste in Legacy Health facilities.
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
Health care facilities are increasingly at risk from climate disruption and are struggling to adapt. Fortunately, funding is readily available to build infrastructure resilience – if hospitals take action now to access it.
Boston Medical Center, an essential hospital and partner facility that has made sustainability and resilience a centerpiece of its mission, shows what accessing this funding can accomplish. Since 2011, BMC’s facility in Boston’s South End has lowered its energy use by about 35% and reduced carbon emissions from energy consumption by over 90%. BMC’s initiatives reduced the… Read More
Type: Press
Sterilants and disinfectants used on surfaces, medical devices, and all items that come in contact with patients are an absolute necessity for infection control in any hospital.
The two most commonly used sterilants and disinfectants for medical devices in health care also have unwanted side effects for the health care workers who use them. They are:
ethylene oxide, a known human carcinogen; and
glutaraldehyde, with reported side effects experienced by health care workers, such as breathing difficulties, rashes, headaches and nosebleeds.
Both the use and disposal of toxic sterilants and… Read More
Type: Basic page
Sample letter to the VP of suply chain asking for support in purchasing environmentally preferable products and services, which are are essential components of a sustainable health care system.
Type: Resources
(Sustainable procurement guide) Health care facilities may wish to adapt this template from Practice Greenhealth to develop their own sustainable procurement policy.
Type: Resources
Every day, patients and workers are exposed to a wide array of chemicals in hospitals and health care facilities. Many of these chemicals have been shown to have a lasting negative impact on individual health, public health, and the environment.
Resilient flooring has a big impact on the indoor environment and on the employee and patient experience in your facility. Choosing healthier flooring can:
Decrease patient, staff, and visitor exposures to harmful chemicals that have links to asthma, cancer, and developmental impacts, among other health effects.
Decrease the volume of toxic and… Read More
Type: Basic page
When preparing for meetings with prospective sponsors or executive champions, use or modify this slide deck for formal presentations that outline the opportunity for alignment of sustainability and community resilience principles with the overarching strategic goals of the hospital or health system. There's plenty of room to bring in the unique attributes of your health care facility and community.
Type: Resources
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.