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(Employee engagement toolkit) Green employee benefits can facilitate behavior changes with tangible results which also measurably benefit the environment. They have the potential to accelerate meaningful environmental impacts and bring sustainability values deeper into the fabric of an organization. The services can help retain and attract employees, as well as benefit their health and financial well-being.
Community-supported agriculture (CSA) programs are successfully operated at a number of hospitals throughout the country, and the popularity of programs is increasing steadily. Facilities… Read More
Type: Resources
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
Health care is joining organizations across the country in the goal to reduce food waste by 50% by 2030.
Food can be wasted but is never “waste.” As a valuable resource, it does not belong in a landfill. Landfilling food contributes to climate change and is a missed opportunity for addressing food insecurity. Our guidance, which aligns with the EPA food recovery hierarchy and evolving state and federal regulations, leads you through each strategy from source reduction to food donation to recycling and will help you make a plan for achieving your waste reduction goals.
Assemble the… Read More
Type: Basic page
Recruitment, retention and satisfaction is on the mind of health care leaders. 2018 marked an 18.5 percent turnover rate in the health care sector, the highest rate in a decade. Last year, 24 percent of new hires left within a year. High turnover combined with health care growth is creating staffing gaps, which impact the bottom line. The average cost for one replaced health care worker is $60,000.
The next generation of health care workers seek employers that share their values and beliefs. Surveys indicate that most people are concerned about climate change and the number of people… Read More
Type: Resources
Practice Greenhealth member Providence Regional Medical Center in Everett, Washington, was among the first hospitals to receive and treat COVID-19 patients.
They used more personal protective equipment (PPE) in two months in early 2020 than their entire 51-hospital system used the previous year.
The realization that there would not be enough PPE if standard infection prevention policies and isolation procedures were followed meant something had to change, and quickly.
As supplies of high-filtration masks dwindled, CDC and FDA provided guidance to hospitals on how employees could reuse “… Read More
Type: Press
Change happens through people – use our guidance to build a culture where sustainability is everyone’s job.
The case for resourcing and staffing sustainability programming within health care has grown significantly over the last decade. Even so, it is imperative for an organization, and in particular executive leadership, to prioritize ways to engage all staff, not just those with sustainability in their job title, to realize all the benefits sustainability can bring to the organization.
Staff engagement strategies:
Create program visibility
Build capacity for sustainability work and… Read More
Type: Basic page
Medical devices and equipment cost more than their initial purchase price. Maintenance, energy demands, disposal costs, and other long-term costs of ownership can drastically change the lifetime price tag of products and equipment.
The tool provides a framework to assess the financial costs and bring hidden costs to the surface, including:
Maintenance
Use
Disposal
Looking at the maintenance, use, and disposal costs to an organization means looking at costs, such as:
Energy use, water consumption, fuel, and waste disposal
Cleaning
Consumables
Taking all of these factors into account… Read More
Type: Basic page
Data collection is essential to effective sustainability programs, but it’s only useful if the data is used and acted upon. By aggregating data from hospitals across our network, Practice Greenhealth provides valuable insights into the state of sustainability work across the sector.
We know your data is precious, and we are committed to protecting it. Please see our data policy to learn more
“Thanks to the data analyzed through the awards platform at Practice Greenhealth, we're in a healthier position to categorically mitigate the various wastes associated with health care operations while… Read More
Type: Basic page
38 case studies & guidance on sustainable health care
“It’s very exciting to be part of a strategy that is so ambitious and future thinking. It inspires us as health care workers to play our part in helping our district to achieve the goals we’ve set out.” – Amy Bernotas, Anaesthetic & Recovery Nurse, Hunter New England, Australia
Health Care Without Harm and partners convened health care organizations from 17 countries around the world to share their stories of proven practices and step-by-step guidance for dramatically reducing greenhouse gases and protecting life-giving… Read More
Type: Press
Rather than disposing of supplies, equipment, and devices that are in good working order when a facility is finished with them, many of our member hospitals report they’ve identified ways to reuse, donate, remanufacture, or take advantage of take-backs for these items.
While it takes time to identify and arrange these reuse strategies, the costs saved by reducing haul-away disposal costs are substantial.
Practice Greenhealth offers tools, resources, and case studies to help our members to assess the best ways to reuse or donate equipment and other items rather than create waste.
Reuse,… Read More
Type: Basic page
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.