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On a recent winter morning, Michael J. Fiore CIH, CSP, director of Environmental Occupational Health and Safety/Sustainability at NorthShore University HealthSystem, sat down with Hermine Levey Weston for a conversation about the value of the Environmental Excellence Awards in advancing their sustainability goals.
[Hermine] NorthShore University HealthSystem’s past successes include an Emerald and a Top 25 Hospital award. Why do you make the Environmental Excellence Award application a priority for your program?
[Mike] This is a great question and extremely appropriate as I think about how… Read More
Type: Press
Healthier Hospitals (HH) was a great success due to the thousands of hospitals and health systems that committed to the six challenges to improve sustainability performance. It represented a shared leadership around healthier communities and provided hospitals of all sizes with free tools and resources that help focus sustainability efforts on the health care sector's biggest areas of opportunity and risk. Our success is due in large part to the strong partnerships we've formed with health care organizations and other nonprofit organizations.
In many cases, these challenges helped get… Read More
Type: Basic page
Solid waste is the largest waste stream for health care organizations, comprising two-thirds of all hospital waste. Though relatively straightforward to dispose of, the sheer volume of solid waste consumes more than 30 percent of the hospital’s total waste budget. It is also often called municipal, black bag, clear bag, or non-regulated medical waste.
Solid waste from hospitals resembles the waste generated in other sectors or even from residential neighborhoods: paper, cardboard, food waste, textiles, plastics, and other non-regulated trash, but with more plastic from gloves, catheter bags… Read More
Type: Basic page
The University of Vermont Medical Center's mission and vision are built on a foundation of values that includes a longstanding commitment to being prudent stewards of limited natural resources. We will continuously look for new ways to build upon on our long tradition of environmental responsibility. We recognize that the health of the community is integral to the total health of the environment. We strive to ensure that day-to-day operations are founded in sound environmental practices in all aspects of care delivery. Working together we will continue to improve health and mitigate the… Read More
Type: Resources
Listen to all the ways policy advocacy plays a role in advancing your sustainability efforts. Learn to navigate government levels to drive broader change and highlight your unique accomplishments. Hear firsthand from U.S. Health Care Climate Council members Providence and Boston Medical Center about their experience in climate and sustainability-oriented policy advocacy and discover how to engage internal teams like communications and government affairs on sustainability policy opportunities. This session will give you actionable insights into how to engage in policy work, no matter where you… Read More
Type: Event
Shanda Demorest, DNP (she/her), supports the Sustainability Solutions team in advancing environmental sustainability throughout the healthcare sector. Dr. Demorest earned her Doctorate of Nursing Practice in Health Innovation and Leadership from the University of Minnesota and holds the LEED Green Associate credential through the U.S. Green Building Council. A cardiovascular nurse with horticultural training, Shanda is co-founder of the Nurses Climate Challenge: A national campaign to educate 50,000 health professionals about the health impacts of climate change. Dr. Demorest is an Affiliate… Read More
Type: Event Presenters
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
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
The imperative
The Lancet Commission characterized climate change as both the “biggest global health threat” and the “greatest global health opportunity” of the 21st century. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 2018 report, we need to cut emissions in half by 2030 and get to net-zero emissions by 2050 to keep warming to 1.5°C and avoid the most catastrophic impacts of climate change.
Solving health problems always starts with setting a goal. Establishing a leadership-endorsed, ambitious target motivates staff and helps drive strategies and resources for success… Read More
Type: Basic page
(Less water toolkit) There are over 50 million inpatient surgeries annually in the United States according to the CDC, and the majority of clinicians still practice the tradition of hand washing with soap as standard procedure. Carolinas Medical Center’s Green OR Committee discovered that only 22 percent of their clinicians were utilizing waterless scrubs (alcohol-based hand rubs). After facility education and system-wide adoption, over 80 percent of surgical personnel favored the waterless scrubs. This new behavior change translated directly to 2.7 million liters of water savings resulting… Read More
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 1,700 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.