Friday, August 1, 2014

How to make health care industry and hospitals more green

If you work in the health care industry, and feel there are opportunities to make it more environmentally-friendly, or would like to learn what is being done, check out a new book written by Kathy Gerwig, VP, Employee Safety, Health and Wellness and Environmental Stewardship Officer for Kaiser Permanente.



She describes a couple ways that hospitals are greening themselves, and presents practical solutions for health care organizations and clinicians to improve their environments and the health of their communities. Topics include: making food services sustainable, managing hospital waste, and relevant impacts/mitigating measures related to climate change. 

  1. Energy and Climate - renewable energy, energy efficiency and how it impacts carbon emissions
  2. Food - making cafeteria and patient meals more sustainable
  3. Purchasing - environmentally preferred purchasing agreements with medical suppliers
  4. Safer Chemicals - dealing with chemically laden products, such as exam gloves, plastic tubing, cleaning products, and disinfectants
  5. Waste - managing the numerous waste streams in a hospital



You can read an article about the author and the book at:  http://www.corporateecoforum.com/hospitals-can-heal-planet/

You can order the book on Amazon at: Greening Health Care: How Hospitals Can Heal the Planet

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