Future of Sustainability in Healthcare: GHSI

Future of Sustainability in Healthcare: GHSI

The Global Health and Safety Initiative
Pat Burdullis, Catholic Healthcare West
Kathy Gerwig, Kaiser Permanente
Robin Guenther, Perkins and Will
Bob McCoole, Ascension Health
Bob Eisenman, Global Health and Safety Initiative
Christina Ayers, Cleveland Clinic Foundation

Bob Eisenman

New strategy to combine environmental and sustainability movement with hospital concern about patient safety.

The case for change
- Patient safety – addressing medical errors
- Workplace safety – hospitals very dangerous places to work
- Environmental health and safety – unhealthy environments and large eco-footprint

Powerful synergy between the need to address each of these three safety concerns

GHSI is a social movement providing sector-wide leadership to transform health care

Presently includes 18 of largest health systems, significant partner organizations, major government agencies

Five work groups:
* Built environment
* Environmentally preferable purchasing
* Sustainable operations
* Research collaborative
* Corp. responsibility and public policy

Bob McCoole – Built Environment Work Group

- Design, energy and materials sub-committees
- Shared web databases – PHAROS and CHD database
- PGH’s Green Guide for Health Care
- Creating fact sheets
- Energy Efficient High Performance Hospitals Toolkit
  – Clean Energy Exchange Program
  – ASHRAE Advanced Energy Design Guide
  – Energy Impact Calculator
 
Pat Burdullis – Healthy Purchasing Work Group

- Environmentally Preferable Purchasing tools
- Creating markets for more sustainable products
- Online resource with case studies and educational materials
- Share model RFPs and other docs
- Group purchasing organizations with $1 billion in purchases per year are on board with notion of environmentally preferable purchasing

Christina Ayers – Sustainable Operations Work Group

- Building database of sustainable operations
- Define benchmark metrics for sustainability operations
- Develop infrastructure guidance for sustainable ops
- Outline environmental specs, job descriptions, model RFP language
- Partner with GHSI research group
- Green Cleaning Study – e.g., microfiber mops

Kathy Gerwig – CSR-PP Work Group (Corp Soc. Resp and Public Policy)

- Leverage corporate assets to promote economic, social and environmental health
- Environmental Footprint for Health Care
- CSR Assessment Tool – help groups build business case
- Community Benefit Investment
- Public Policy Decision-making Criteria

Robin Guenther – Research Work Group

- Facilitates research to increase understanding and remove obstacles to going green
- Building business case for greener and safer hospital designs
- Evidence-based design evaluation

Bob Eisenman

- Lots of projects in process
- More help needed and more participants welcomed
- Reaching out on the internet and via other media avenues

- More – visit www.globalhealthsafety.org