January 27, 2022
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COALITION SPOTLIGHT
Join Canada's Green Health Care Movement!

The Canadian Coalition for Green Health Care invites you to become a member of Canada's largest green health organisation for the 2022 calendar year!

By becoming a member of the Coalition you will have access to:

  • Quarterly Zoom webinars where we welcome members to participate in a variety of green-themed topics of interest to today’s green health care champions. (Stay tuned for updates!)
  • Members will be recognized nationally for their achievements and have priority access to lead or host Coalition pilot projects and initiatives.
  • Members have the option of applying to sit on the Coalition's Boar of Directors, vote on key operational and directional strategies, and help set the direction of future Coalition initiatives.
Sustainability Champions Program

If your for-profit organisation has made a serious corporate commitment to making health care more sustainable, you can become recognized as a green health 2022 Sustainability Champion by the Canadian Coalition for Green Health Care.

Benefits include:

  • Opportunities to work with like-mined organisations to define projects, identify areas of research and education, and share information.
  • The ability to sponsor specific projects, events, publications and online resources targeted at health care institutions, leaders, professionals, groups and agencies.
  • Working with CCGHC to provide targeted educational opportunities to health care leaders, professionals, staff and volunteers.
Going Green in Health Care
Canadian Healthcare Facilities

In this issue of Canadian Healthcare Facilities, Krishna Arkella dives into innovative health care technology and the growing awareness of environmentally responsible practices.

Arkella cites the Coalition's very own Green Hospital Scorecard (GHS) as being a tool to help drive organisations towards reducing their ecological footprint.

Click HERE to read the full article and see what Arkella has to say about the GHS.
2021 Wayne McLellan Award Recipient
Canadian Healthcare Engineering Society (CHES)

Special mention to Arnprior Regional Health (ARH) who won last year's "Wayne McLellan Award of Excellence in Healthcare Facilities Management".

This award recognizes facilities that have had outstanding success in the completion of a major capital project, an energy efficiency program, an environmental stewardship program or in a team building exercise.

Click here to learn more about ARH and their exciting achievement!
CASCADES New Website!
CASCADES has a new home on the web! Visit cascadescanada.ca for the latest updates, course and event listings, and to connect with others working to create sustainable health systems in Canada.
You can also connect with them on Twitter, on LinkedIn, and via their mailing list
Upcoming Opportunities
#CanadaCapacity Photo Campaign
Are you engaged in making your health system more sustainable?

CASCADES is launching the #CanadianCapacity photo campaign to showcase Canada’s tremendous capacity for developing climate resilient, low carbon sustainable health systems.

Send them a photo of yourself, your team, or the change you’re making by February 28th to be featured on CASCADES’ website and social media.
Peace, Health and Sustainability with the Pegasus Institute
The Summer Institute's popular "Humanitarian Action in the 21st Century" course taught by Professor Rachel Kiddell-Monroe has a new name this year and is joined by two new courses for 2022!

Pegasus Institute to offer two new courses for students interested in how conflict and the environment shape human health. "Peace through Health" and "Environment and Human Health" will explore connections between larger events of the world and the health of populations and individuals. Those courses join "Decolonizing Humanitarian Action: Challenges & Dilemmas" - which tackles forced migration, climate crisis, and access to medicines-to form a stellar grouping of courses for public and global health students and working professionals in the health and humanitarian fields

These courses will run through May 24th - June 10th, 2022.
The CCHL Energy and Environmental Stewardship Award is now accepting nominations!
Recognize and promote your outstanding environmental programs!

The Canadian College of Health Leaders’ Energy and Environmental Stewardship Award recognizes a progressive health care organisation that has implemented organisational wide initiatives demonstrating environmental responsibility through the reduction of energy usage, the preservation of natural resources and effective waste diversion solutions.

All Canadian health care organisations are eligible for this award. Nominations must be submitted by February 1st, 2022.
2022 ENERGY STAR® Canada Award nominations are now open!
The ENERGY STAR® Canada Awards recognize businesses and organizations that have made outstanding contributions to protecting the environment through superior energy achievements in Canada.

ENERGY STAR participants are welcome to submit an application for one or more awards before March 4th, 2022.

Learn more and start the application process HERE
A BIG thank you to SaveOnEnergy for their continued financial support for the Ontario Green Health Care Award and the Ontario Energy Behaviour Award.
CLIMATE CHANGE
New research shows how health risks to children mount as temperature rises
Toronto Star

Hotter temperatures in late spring and summer were associated with higher rates of emergency room visits for children across the United States, researchers said Wednesday.

The research adds to a growing body of evidence of the dangers that heat poses to vulnerable populations, including children and adolescents. Although children dissipate heat in the same way as adults, they suffer the effects differently, in part because of differing body surface areas, body fat composition and hydration.

“We’ve run into trouble previously assuming that children are little adults,” said Dr. Aaron Bernstein, a pediatrician at the Boston Children’s Hospital who was one of the paper’s authors. But the findings show that their bodies suffer from some unique effects of heat.
Education for sustainable healthcare: Leadership to get from here to there
Medical Teacher

The current global crises, including climate, COVID-19, and environmental change, requires global collective action at all scales.

These broad socio-ecological challenges require the engagement of diverse perspectives and ways of knowing and the meaningful engagement of all generations and stages of personal and professional development.

The combination of systems thinking, change management, quality improvement approaches and models, appreciative/strength-based approaches, narratives, storytelling and the strengths of Indigenous knowledges, offer synergies and potential that can set the stage for transformative, strengths-based education for sustainable healthcare (ESH).

The need for strong leadership to enact a vision for ESH is outlined here with the intent to enable and nurture the conditions for change, ultimately improving health and well-being across generations.
Environmental equity and the role of health care facilities
Health Facilities Management
Devastating wildfires, deadly hurricanes, extreme heat, unprecedented ice storms, destructive flooding, crippling droughts. While such natural disasters are not new occurrences, the effects of climate change have exacerbated their impacts. The likelihood of more frequent and severe events means planning, preparation and recovery needs will only increase in the future.

Climate change poses particular challenges to health care facilities, which are often anchor institutions in their communities, providing essential services both in the short-term — after a disaster, for example — and over the long-term in terms of public health. The role and critical nature of health care facilities mean that they have significant impacts on communities, regions and beyond.
SUSTAINABLE FOODS
Food is Our Medicine: Online course
Nourish

This online course offered by Nourish is designed to introduce health care professionals and leaders to new and different ways of understanding the complex relationships between Indigenous foodways, reconciliation, healing and health care.

You will have opportunities to learn and reflect on (de)colonization, the perspectives, cultures and foodways of various Indigenous communities, and steps you can take toward honouring Indigenous worldviews in health care.

This learning journey includes an interactive webinar series and a digital resource library. Participation is free and to be completed at your own pace.
Why hospital food matters for reconciliation
Nourish

In case you missed it, back in March 2021 Nourish launched a short film, "Why Hospital Food Matters for Reconciliation". This film explores the significant cultural influence Health care institutions hold in Canada, and how often they perpetuate systemic discrimination embedded in their policies and practices.

So how can health care institutions use their influence to create change? Food is a good place to start. This film explains how colonialism created an “Indigenous health gap” and how food can play an important role in decolonizing our institutions.

This film is available here in English and here in French.

Nourish also hosted a webinar to accompany the launch of "Why Hospital Food Matters for Reconciliation." The webinar recording is available here.
ELECTRIC VEHICLES
NRCan studies grid readiness as utilities, generators prepare for EV effect on demand
Electric Autonomy

As electric vehicle adoption rates surge many of Canada’s electric grids will feel an impact by the demand to deliver enough (and clean) energy to power these vehicles. To understand the challenges and identify solutions, Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) launched an initial round of public consultations last month to determine the anticipated impact of high penetration of EVs will have on grids.
FACILITIES
Decarbonizing buildings through innovation
The REMI Network

Canada’s race to reduce carbon emissions is gaining speed. And while the focus of the Federal Government’s strategies has largely centres on fuel-combustion vehicles and environmental systems, there is a renewed focus on reducing a company’s supply chain carbon footprint (aka “Scope 3"). 

“Fresh off the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference, the Canadian government is taking a closer interest in reducing Scope 3 emissions, and a lot of that has to do with finding ways to decarbonize buildings” - Jeff Grabinsky, Vice President of Executive Mat Service
Techno-economic analysis and the modelling of the feasibility of wind energy in Kuwait

This research study is based on a techno-economic analysis of the feasibility of implementing wind power generation in Kuwait for 105 MW of electricity generation based on 50 wind turbines, which is a major requirement for clean energy. The study focused on three main areas of analysis and numerical modelling using the RETScreen® software tool. 
EVENTS, TRAINING AND WEBINARS
Canada in a Changing Climate Winter Webinar Series
Climate Risk Institute

Join Canada’s Climate Change Adaptation Platform for a series of webinars on the Canada in a Changing Climate: National Issues Report. Learn more about how climate change is affecting our communities, environment and economy and how Canadians are adapting.

WEBINAR SCHEDULE:
  • Sector Impacts and Adaptation: Friday January 28, 12:00 to 1:30 pm (EST)
  • International Dimensions: Friday, February 4, 12:00 to 1:00 pm (EST)
  • Water Resources and Ecosystem Services: Friday February 11, 12:00 to 1:30 pm (EST)
  • Costs and Benefits of Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation: Friday February 18, 12:00 to 1:00 pm (EST)

*You can choose to attend one or more of the above webinars.
Racism & Health
HealthAffairs

On February 8th, panels of distinguished authors and experts will present their work and engage in discussions on the historical context, evolving research practices and policies, and the lived experience of populations whose health has been harmed by individual and structural racism.

A highlight of the event will be the reading of “Identity,” an original poem by Sharon Attipoe-Dorcoo, which will be published in the February 2022 issue of Health Affairs, "Racism & Health".

Click HERE to learn more and register for this virtual symposium!
Canada's climate adaptation action map webinar

Speakers from Environment and Climate Change Canada will be joining this webinar to provide more information on the online interactive tool of Canadian climate change adaptation examples: the Map of Adaptation Actions. This tool aims to support Canadian decision-makers and action enablers, in an interactive and user-friendly fashion, by increasing knowledge and promoting the implementation of on-the-ground adaptation actions.

Date: February 1st, 2022
Time: 1:00 PM EST

Booking for booths at IFHE 2022 now open
"Unleashing Innovation: Healthcare Engineering Excellence"

IFHE 2022 Congress | CHES 2022 National Conference taking place September 17-21, 2022 in Toronto ON is now open. Booth space is limited.

Date: Saturday, September 12 - Wednesday, September 21, 2022

RETScreen is a Clean Energy Management Software system for energy efficiency, renewable energy and cogeneration project feasibility analysis as well as ongoing energy performance analysis.
Have you registered as an organ donor?

Contact your local organ donation agency and speak to your family about your wishes. You have the power to save and transform lives.
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 
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.