"Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.
-Ralph Waldo Emerson
Announcements
Thank you Sam!
We would like to take a moment to thank former CCGHC staff Samantha Putoš. Sam has been our Sustainable Programs Manager since October 2016 . She has been integral for the growth of the CCGHC. Samantha has worked on the Coalition's Safer Chemicals Project, Climate Change Resiliency Mentoring program, the Green Hospital Scorecard and WAHA First Nation's Energy Project . Good luck in your future endeavours, Sam!
Welcoming
We are welcoming our new Sustainable Programs Coordinator, Dan Ritchie. In 2013, Dan graduated with a Bachelor in Environmental Studies from Acadia University. With a background in experiential education, urban farming and outdoor adventure, Dan hopes to add value to sustainability in Canada. He will be responsible for working on the Coalition's Safer Chemicals Project, the Green Hospital Scorecard, social media and other initiatives. You can contact Dan directly at dan@greenhealthcare.ca
The Lancet Countdown on health and climate change   is a research collaboration which chronicles climate change and its effect on health for over 25 years. Access to the full journal entry can be found  here . The first annual progress report has just been released and reports on indicators across five sections: climate change impacts, exposures, and vulnerability; adaptation planning and resilience for health; mitigation actions and health co-benefits; economics and finance; and public and political engagement. This report can be found here

REMINDER
Launch of the  Lancet Countdown 201 7 Report: Briefing for Canadian Policymakers
Thursday 2 November 2017
11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario
Max Keeping Wing, Room 1306
 
Available via  webcast !
Pre-registration not required.
Health Care Call to Action on Climate Change
Endorse by November 8!

With the UN Climate Negotiations set to begin next week in Bonn, Germany, the deadline is approaching to join your health sector colleagues from around the globe in endorsing the Health Care Call to Action on Climate Change.



Registration Still Open
The Canadian Coalition for Green Health Care is currently accepting applications for our second Climate Change Resiliency Mentoring Cohort. Climate Change Resiliency Mentoring is a program that provides tools, resources, and guidance for facilities to evaluate and increase their resiliency to climate change impacts.

"Participating in this program really identified areas that our facilities team had to concentrate on. Not only were we able to target specific areas of preparedness, we were able to form action plans for some of the risks, such as obtaining water if there was a drought. Being a Public Private Partnership (P3) hospital, this exercise helped us create a better understanding of how our preparedness partnered with the building’s maintenance team as well. We would definitely recommend that a hospital go through this program to help identify areas that may require some more preparation in our changing climate."

Eileen Benedictus and Dorthy Duguay
North Bay Regional Health Centre

Climate change impacts are here now - is your facility ready? If you are interested in participating in the mentoring program, fill out an interest form here . For more information on the program, click here .
The fall edition of Nourish Newsletter has been recently released. It includes articles related to patient care and food systems. The comprehensive newsletter can be found here. Subscribe to gain more up-to-date information on health care and food.
Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) tools created to help track activities related to manufacturing and usage of chemicals . The global environment health and safety market has been rapidly expanding with the integration of analytics. Collecting data has expanded to assist in managing CFCs' and mercury levels. The market that this tool kit involves extends to a wide range of health care providers. Questions about the EHS tools can be found here .
The Journal of Nursing Scholarship released a special issue regarding climate change . The Nursing Scholarship has stated that it is clear that climate is changing and nursing has to rise above debate to focus on expanding their role within health promotion, disease prevention and environment measures. This special issue includes an emphasis on the importance of nurses in fostering planetary health, the need of health care industry to reduce its carbon footprint and becoming empowered to identify and encourage sustainable practices within their work setting. This journal has listed nurse's role as essential for discovering research findings, as evinced by their work to protect populations and educating the workforce of the future. You can find more on the call for expanding roles of nurses in climate change here .
Puerto Rico children’s hospital receiving emergency solar power through Tesla project . After nearly a month since the category four Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico, solar energy has proven an option for restoring electricity in hospitals. Hospital Del Nino is one of the first locations on the island to receive a “micro-grid” that will help generate and store power. Further developments of this project can be found here .  

Over 75% of Puerto Rico’s power remains inactive as Tesla has initiated both solar and battery services throughout the Caribbean island. One example of solar panels withstanding Hurricane Maria is a 40 acre farm in Barranquitas, Puerto Rico. The $300, 000 investment in solar panelling allowed farmer Hector Santiago to maintain power directly after Hurricane Maria. This example displays how solar power could influence climate change resilience for organizations such as hospitals. The full story can be found here .
UPDATES
Green Hospital Scorecard (GHS) returning soon!
The GHS will be soon extending invitations to hospitals across Canada.


Quality Healthcare by Design: Putting People First happened at Niagara Falls on September 17-19th. The conference was organized by the Canadian Healthcare Engineering Society (CHES) with various presentations focused on the 5 core competencies for a Canadian Health Care Facility Manager. These presentations are available for use here .
EVENTS AND WEBINARS
CHES 2018 National Conference
St. John's, N.L. 
September 16-18, 2018
St. John's Convention Centre

Smarter Infrastructure for Enhanced Patient Outcomes
We are seeking leaders from Canada and beyond to inspire, demonstrate, educate and share with CHES members the stories, tips, trials, methods and solutions to help us to improve patient outcomes with smarter infrastructure.
Like other CHES National Conferences, our education program will also feature two tracks. Our goal is the delivery of an educational program that directly links to the theme of the conference.


The CHES 2018 Nation Conference has announced a c all for Abstract Submissions .

Deadline for Submission:   November 15, 2017

7th Building SustainABLE Cities and Communities
The Fresh Outlook Foundation is hosting its 7th Building SustainABLE Communities conference Nov 21-24 in Kelowna, BC. The overarching theme is Innovation Through Collaboration, with major forum topics being Climate Action, Water Stewardship, Food Systems/Security, and Community Capital/Infrastructure. Participants include government, business and not for profits that will come together to focus on topics surrounding climate change and community health.

Webinar Series
Sustainability and Waste Management in Healthcare
HealthCAREcan
November 30th, 2017
1:00-2:00 (EST)

Presented by:  Linda Varangu, Executive Director: Canadian Coalition for Green Health Care

Kent Waddington: the Coalition’'s Communications Director

Register for the webinar here .

CES Future of Smart Cities Conference
CES Smarter Cities Conference 2018
January 9-12, 2017
Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC)
Las Vegas, Nevada

CES is the only place to experience the entire connected ecosystem that brings together the technologies, solutions, players and audiences in the smart city sector including: IoT, 5G Connectivity, Transportation and Smart Automotive, Energy and Utilities, Health and Public Safety, Artificial Intelligence and Data Analytics.

Global health care and business leaders come to HealthAchieve to be empowered by the potential that change holds. They seek new ways to push boundaries that move the health care system forward, to learn from and collaborate with industry leaders and innovators, and, ultimately, to change lives by helping to create a high-performing health system that is truly focused on putting patients first.
This year, HealthAchieve will be in the South Building of the Metro Toronto Convention Centre over two days, November 6 and 7.
Register today here.

Watch a preview of HealthAchieve  here.
Climate and Health Summit 2017
  Climate and Health Summit
November 11 th - 2017
Bonn, Germany

It will serve as an opportunity to promote the investment in communities and health systems, increase awareness of sustainable urban and regional development in the context of climate change and health, and strengthen collaboration among health organizations and with other sectors to increase capacity of the global response to climate change.

Learn more about the one day conference here .

Do you have any photos or stories to share with The Green Digest? Send to dan@greenhealthcare.ca