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Blog by Blair Sadler, Esq., Senior Fellow, Institute for Healthcare Improvement
Now is the time to make environmental sustainability part of your quality improvement work.
Years ago when I was a hospital CEO, I didn't have sustainability on my radar screen. I wasn't aware of the significant impact that the health care sector has on the environment – and on quality care. I didn't consider the amount of waste, energy and water that hospitals used – that chemicals of concern are found in medical products and furniture – that the food system is one of the biggest contributors to global… Read More
Type: Press
Hospital’s ‘Green Team’ cuts waste and expense
Tuesday, October 7, 2014 2:24 PM
By E. A. Barrera/Special to the Index-Tribune
Realizing that medical waste can really add up – both in garbage and dollars – Sonoma Valley Hospital formed a “Green Team” three years ago to find ways to curb environmental degradation.
Now that work is paying off, with a 31 percent reduction in annual waste, moves to eliminate mercury and other toxic chemicals from the facility altogether, and some newfound recognition to boot.
In June, SVH was honored as a leader in environmentally sustainable business… Read More
Type: Press
Rethinking Environmentally Preferred Purchasing: A Case Study in Implementation at Kaiser Permanente
By Vanessa Lochner, Kaiser Permanente's director for the Environmentally Preferred Purchasing program
Achieving an environmentally preferable purchasing program is simpler than many people realize. From the start, it’s important to determine the desired results.
At Kaiser Permanente, our decision to pursue a more rigorous EPP program was motivated by five environmental priorities: cleaner energy, safer chemicals, less waste, healthier and more sustainable food and water conservation. We’ve achieved multiple successes over the past several years. The EPP program delivers over $63 million… Read More
Type: Press
Moyle, Julie K. MSN, RN; Lynn, Cecilia DeLoach MBA, LEED AP
Author Information
Julie K. Moyle is the Founder of 1x1 Consulting and a Staff Nurse at Avista Surgery Center, Boulder, Colo. Cecilia DeLoach Lynn is the Director of Facility Engagement & Metrics at Practice Greenhealth, Reston, Va.
This article is based in part on a presentation given at the Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN) 2013 Congress, March 4, 2013 in San Diego, Calif. The authors wish to recognize contributing partners Debra J. Savage, MSN, RN, CNOR, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center East, Liisa J… Read More
Type: Press
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
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.