Search Results
Displaying results 1251 - 1260 of 1373
By Gary Cohen, president and founder of Health Care Without Harm
Imagine energy efficient hospitals that save money on energy bills to use for critical patient care, and that promote renewable energy as a community health and resilience strategy. Imagine hospitals that create healthy food environments to help address the epidemic of obesity and diabetes in our country. Imagine hospitals that lead society in reducing toxic chemical exposures, and that are reducing their waste, saving money and improving patient care at the same time. Imagine a health care system that redefines “community… Read More
Type: Press
2013 Award Winners Announced
(Reston, Va.)— Practice Greenhealth, the nation’s leading membership association devoted to environmentally responsible health care, has announced its 2013 Environmental Excellence Award winners. These coveted Awards are given to institutions within the health care sector for outstanding programs to reduce the facility’s environmental footprint.
Harborview Medical Center, Kaiser Permanente Roseville Medical Center, and Spectrum Health Blodgett Hospital were acknowledged with Practice Greenhealth‘s highest award by being admitted to the Environmental… Read More
Type: Press
Two weeks ago, my daughter Franni and I (along with two other moms and their 8th grade girls) embarked on a volunteer trip to Jaibon, Dominican Republic through a not for profit— Outreach 360. We spent the week teaching English to children aged kindergarten through sixth grade and worked on a project associated with a boy’s orphanage that homed 22 amazing boys. The school principal and orphanage founder were one in the same – “La Tia” – the Aunt.
Students
I was able to connect this experience to my passion for health care sustainability by going online to identify the local hospital. I… Read More
Type: Press
Advocate Health Care has made a commitment to delivering sustainable health care through conservation of resources, preservation of environmental health, and waste minimization. By building a culture of stewardship where each of our associates are responsible and accountable for our impacts on the planet, Advocate intends to deliver health care that meets today's needs without compromising the health needs of future generations.
2011 Goals
To reduce energy consumption by 20 percent over the 2008 baseline by the end of 2015.
To divert at least 30 percent of total waste streams from the… Read More
Type: Press
By Jodi Sherman, MD, Guest Blogger -
In the operating room, the stakes are high and moments count. Great measures are taken to prevent bad outcomes. At the same time, the most recent and conservative Practice Greenhealth estimate places annual hospital waste at 5.9 million tons per year in the United States alone. Perioperative services is the single largest clinical generator of trash in all of health care, responsible for upwards of 30% of hospital waste, and making the operating room a critical target for sustainability efforts. It is ultimately up to the surgeon to decide what surgical… Read More
Type: Press
By Mark Sanchez
Business Review West Michigan
Accounting for 18 percent of the GDP in America and holding enormous purchasing power, health care is in a position to drive sustainability to new heights, Gary Cohen believes.
From energy consumption to the use of chemicals and safer products, health care “can have a society-wide transformational power,” said Cohen, founder and co-executive director of Health Care Without Harm, a group that advocates for environmental responsibility in health care.
“It’s the one sector in society that has the Hippocratic Oath to do no harm, and, as it begins to… Read More
Type: Press
There are many strategies a hospital or health system can use to increase the availability of sustainably produced food options via existing supply channels and relationships. This document offers several strategies and resources to implement.
Type: Resources
(Health Care Without Harm) There are many opportunities for hospitals to improve patient safety, worker safety, and the overall health of communities and the environment via their food service operations. By implementing environmentally preferable purchasing and other operational and maintenance strategies in food service, hospitals can help to reduce patient, worker and community exposure to toxic chemicals, preserve the effectiveness of antibiotics for treatment of human disease, prevent air and water pollution, reduce waste, conserve natural resources and potentially save money over the… Read More
Type: Resources
A list of idling, air pollution, and fleet vehicle resources provided by Partners for Clean Air.
Type: Resources
(U.S. Department of Energy) IdleBox is an electronic education and outreach toolkit on vehicle idling reduction from the Clean Cities Coalition Network. The low-hanging fruit of fuel economy, idling reduction is a simple way to use less fuel and to reduce pollution and greenhouse gases.
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.