The Green Digest
A Canadian Coalition for Green Health Care Initiative
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The Green Digest gratefully acknowledges project
support from ENERGY STAR
® Canada.
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NOTE: Coalition offices will be closed December 23, 2019 through January 3, 2020 to allow our staff to spend time with family and loved ones.
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SJRH achieves ENERGY STAR® certification for the second year
Horizon’s Saint John Regional Hospital (SJRH) has earned Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) ENERGY STAR certification for 2019. This is the second year that SJRH has been awarded for its superior building performance. SJRH was the first health care facility in Canada to receive ENERGY STAR certification with a score of 88 in 2018. For 2019, SJRH received an ENERGY STAR score of 92.
ENERGY STAR certified buildings are verified to perform in the top 25 percent of buildings nationwide, based on weather-normalized source energy use that takes into account occupancy, hours of operation, and other key metrics. Only buildings that earn 75 or higher on NRCan’s energy performance scale and are verified by a licensed professional engineer or registered architect can use the certification mark.
The increased score this year is a direct result of the Facilities, Engineering and Property Management team, all of whom are dedicated to SJRH being an energy-efficient top performing healthcare facility while providing safe and quality care to the patients, clients and staff.
“We’re honoured to earn ENERGY STAR for the second year at SJRH. The team’s efforts and dedication are critical in the success. As well, their dedication to two significant projects last year assisted in the increased performance”, said Ralph Mayfield, Horizon’s Director of Facilities, Engineering and Property Management for the Saint John area.
The continuous optimization of building systems using real time building analytics software has improved the building thermal and comfort levels while reducing energy. “It allows for ongoing monitoring and performance adjustments that can save thousands of dollars each year in energy, improve patient/occupant comfort, and prolong the life of building systems” said Ralph.
As well, the successful implementation of a heat recovery system that captures one of the boiler’s heat load from the exhaust stream and then is used to preheat and heat water loads for the boiler room has been extremely effective. Both are contributing factors to SJRH being a top-performer. Ralph is quick to point out that the efforts are ongoing and that “our team will continue to improve operations as we strive to continually enhance the care experience”.
Image L to R: Ralph Mayfield, Director, Facilities Engineering & Property Management, Saint John area; Blaine Lynch, Regional Director, Facilities Engineering & Property Management; Joe Cooke and Jesse Smith, Building Systems Operators; Kate Butler, Executive Director, Energy Management, Service New Brunswick; and Nick Babkirk, and Building Systems Operator
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(Un)Healthy Carpets in Health Care
C
arpet can negatively impact the indoor environment and the employee and patient experience in your facility. Some volatile organic compounds that can be released from the carpet into the indoor air are carcinogens or reproductive and developmental toxicants.
Practice Greenhealth
and
Health Care Without Harm
are pleased to share their new Healthy Carpet criteria and accompanying goal designed for health care facilities. Similar to their Healthy Flooring guidance, Practice Greenhealth’s new Healthy Carpet goal is intended to assist hospitals in purchasing and to provide a framework to benchmark their progress. Learn more
HERE
.
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Taking on the Challenge of Reducing Medical Waste
Nearly half of the University of Iowa’s waste comes from UI Hospitals and Clinics which provides over 1 million patients each year with medical care. Serving 9,000 meals a day, the hospital sends a significant amount of waste to the landfill — 34% of which has the potential to be reduced. These include things like drinks in Styrofoam cups for patients, or plastic shopping bags. UI senior Claire Jacobmeyer has spent the last year working as the UI Office of Sustainability and the Environment project intern for waste reduction at UI Hospitals and Clinics. Her challenge has been to find ways to reduce waste at an institution that relies on single-use products to remain sanitary for patient safety and health. More
HERE.
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Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria More Prevalent in Device-Related Infections
Reports from CDC Network Shed Light on Healthcare-Associated Infection Pathogens
NEW YORK (November 25, 2019) — Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) related to the use of medical devices are more likely to be antibiotic resistant than HAIs that result from surgical procedures, according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) published recently in Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology, the journal of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America. Read more
HERE.
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Antimicrobial Resistance: What You Need to Know
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a major global health threat that must beaddressed and whilst this important issue is gaining the attention it deserves, journalists might still have fundamental questions in the run-up to the World Antibiotic Awareness Week 18-24 November.
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Can Medical Care Exist Without Plastic
Hospitals are filled with sterile single-use plastic. Environmental advocates are looking for less wasteful ways to keep health care hygienic. Unlike refusing a straw at a restaurant, it’s difficult to cut down on plastic while strapped unconscious to an operating table. Single-use plastic is facing more scrutiny than it ever has, and the medical industry could be the area where individual consumers have the least say. Read the National Geogrpahic article by Sarah Gibbins
HERE
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Climate Change Resources
The Canadian Coalition for Green Health Care has the resources you need to help your facility take action on climate change.
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Green Hospital Scorecard
The Green Hospital Scorecard (GHS) is the only comprehensive health care benchmarking tool in Canada measuring energy conservation, water conservation, waste management and recycling, corporate commitment and pollution prevention. Participating hospitals report on their environmental and sustainability initiatives through a questionnaire and receive a Green Hospital Scorecard summarizing their environmental performance relative to their peers.
Visit us
HERE for educational webinars and complete details. Learn how the Scorecard can help you improve your organisation's ecological footprint.
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Publication: Health Care's Climate Footprint
Health Care Without Harm has recently made available a new publication from their Climate-Smart Health Care Series available
HERE. Get this free download and learn how the health sector contributes to the global climate crisis and what opportunities are available to you to take action.
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Resiliency Toolkit
The
Health Care Facility Climate Change Resiliency Toolkit
was developed to help health care facilities become more resilient to climate-related risks. Co-developed with support from the Nova Scotia Department of Environment and Health Canada the Toolkit includes a checklist with questions in many areas, such as: emergency management, facilities management, health care services and supply chain management. Completion of the assessment checklists by officials with knowledge and experience in these areas will increase awareness and inform resiliency activities. Download
HERE
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Climate Change Resiliency Profiles
The Coalition's case studies showcase the resiliency efforts and disaster responses of some leading health care facilities from across Canada and the U.S. Click
HERE to download your free copies and share them with your Green Team members and fellow resiliency advocates.
OTHER Coalition climate change resources also available
HERE.
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GHG+H2O
Health care facilities are major producers of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and are often the most intensive users of water (H2O) in their communities. In spite of this, many organisations do not rigorously monitor or limit their GHG emissions or water use, and many health care professionals are not aware of the environmental impact their work can have.
To improve awareness of these challenges and encourage adoption of better environmental practices, the
GHG+H2O Green Facility Toolkit provides health care organisations with a specialised package of educational materials, awareness tools, and technical resources including practical recommendations and in-depth information from a wide range of sources, reviewed and presented by facility operations experts from leading Canadian health care organisations. Details
HERE.
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Join the Coalition's Q&A ListServ
The Coalition is pleased to offer an online Question and Answer ListServ giving you access to some of the most brilliant and engaged green health care practitioners in Canada. Have a question about greening your health care organisation? Join by sending an email to:
ccghc-listserv+subscribe@googlegroups.com or Email
kent@greenhealthcare.ca to be added or share a question.
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Do you tweet? We do.
Please join us in the wonderful world of Twitter as we share the latest in Coalition news and initiatives. Find us at
@CCGHC
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Webinars: 2018 Green Health Care Awards
Join the Canadian Coalition for Green Health Care and health care professionals from across Canada in celebrating achievements in sustainability. This series of
free webinars
will focus on results from the 2018 Green Hospital Scorecard, with several presentations on environmental successes and best practices throughout hospital sites. Also, there will be a presentation of awards for the top performing hospitals from various categories including energy, energy behaviour, water, waste and the Green Hospitals of the Year.
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Wednesday December 11th, 2019
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM (EDT)
In celebration of the 2018 Green Hospital Scorecard results, there will be presentations on successes of various hospital sites. Also, there will be an ceremony presenting a total of 12 awards, including top performers in Water, Waste and the Green Hospitals of the Year.
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Thursday December 12th, 2019
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM (EDT)
This webinar will include profiling top performers in energy efficiency, energy behaviour and sharing the latest environmental insights in the field. There will be presentations from various health care providers along with announcing the Ontario Green Health Care Award recipients for Energy and Energy Behaviour.
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Monday December 16th, 2019
12:00 PM – 1:00 PM (EDT)
This webinar will share the latest updates on the Green Hospital Scorecard, with insights in categories such as renewable energy, climate change, transportation and food. Also, there will be a presentation on current updates to the upcoming 2019 Green Hospital Scorecard.
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WEBINAR: Science Meets the Law - Is chemical Assessment Protecting Against Low Dose and Delayed Effects?
How could the
Canadian Environmental Protection Act
be improved?
Please join the Canadian Environmental Law Association (CELA) on
Thursday December 12, 2019 for a webinar starting at 10:30 a.m. PT/11:30 a.m. MT/12:30 p.m. CT/1:30 p.m. ET/2:30 p.m. AT/3:00 p.m. NT
Scientists will be addressing:
- The effects on human and environmental health of low doses and late effects of chemicals; and
- How Canada’s chemicals management plan is conducted now.
This will be followed by a discussion of possible improvements to Canada's law, regulations and processes.
Register for the webinar by email to
deleonf@cela.ca
by Tuesday December 10
th
, 2019. The links and details to connect to the webinar will be provided to those who register by December 9
th
, 2019.
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WEBINAR
Adapting Mi’kmaq Communities of Prince Edward Island to Climate Change Impacts
Wednesday December 11, 2019, 2:00pm – 3:00pm EST
Adaptation des collectivités micmaques de l’Île du Prince Édouard aux effets des changements climatiques
Mercredi 11 décembre 2019, de 14 h 00 à 15 h 00 (HE)
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WEBINAR: Zoonoses and Adaptation in a Changing World
December 12
1:30-2:30pm ET
From Anthrax to Zika, climate change and globalization bring new challenges and opportunities to the One Health community.
Register HERE
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WEBINAIRE: Les Zoonoses et L'adaptation Dans un Monde en Evolution
décembre 2019
1:30-2:30pm ET
De l’anthrax à la maladie Zika, les changements climatiques et la mondialisation préentent de nouveaux défis et opportunités pour la communauté Une santé
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Adaptation Canada 2020 Conference
Raising our Game on Resilience (Call-to-Action)
Vancouver - February 19-21, 2020
Why
Adaptation Canada 2020? No part of our lives as Canadians – and no part of our social structure, economy or environment – is immune to the impacts of climate change. Adaptation Canada 2020 is Canada’s national adaptation conference and there are so many reasons to attend. The Coalition will be participating in the Poster Session with fellow green and resilient champions Angie Woo (LMHO) and Edward Rubinstein (UHN) with the poster entitled
"Measure What You Manage: Climate Impacts and Resilience on Health Facilities." Plan to attend. Learn more
HERE.
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CCHL National Awards Program
Recognize and promote your outstanding leaders and programs
This award recognizes a progressive health care organisation that has implemented organisation-wide initiatives demonstrating environmental responsibility through the reduction of energy usage, the preservation of natural resources and effective waste diversion solutions. Possible initiatives include: implementation of energy efficient building systems and solutions, comprehensive energy and environmental awareness programs, waste management initiatives, and green procurement practices.
Nominations must be submitted by
February 1, 2020. Visit
HERE to learn about all CCHL Awards.
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The Green Digest was brought to you by ENERGY STAR
®
Canada.
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If you have inspirational greening stories or photos to share with Green Digest readers, please send them to Kent at
kent@greenhealthcare.ca
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The Canadian Coalition for Green Health Care is Canada’s premier green health care resource network, leading the evolution of green in Canada’s health sector as a national voice and catalyst for environmental change.
www.greenhealthcare.ca
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Some articles referred to in the Digest make reference to services and/or product offerings from specific suppliers. The CCGHC recommends that readers research the service and product offerings available through a wider range of suppliers for comparison purposes and in keeping with public sector purchasing guidelines. These articles should not be interpreted as an endorsement of any product or service.
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