Greening Health Care: How Hospitals Can Heal the Planet

by Kathy Gerwig

Overview

The relationship between hospitals and the environment is defined by a glaring contradiction: as health care facilities deliver care at any cost, their environmental footprint — pollution, waste production, unsustainable food services — contributes to harming community health.

Greening Health Care examines the intersections of health care and environmental health, both in terms of traditional failures and the revolution underway to fix them. Authored by one of the pioneers in health care's green movement, it 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.

As environmental protection grows into an imperative for all aspects of society, Greening Health Care offers an historical and practical approach to sustainable health care delivery.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780199385836
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	08/21/2014
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	280
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.20(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Kathy Gerwig is Vice President of Employee Safety, Health and Wellness, and Environmental Stewardship Officer for Kaiser Permanente, one of America's leading not-for-profit providers of health care. Ms. Gerwig is responsible for developing, organizing and managing a nationwide environmental initiative for the organization, and under her leadership Kaiser Permanente has become widely recognized as an environmental leader in the health care sector. She has twice testified before Congress on the need for federal chemical policy reform, and has appeared at numerous hearings on environmental issues. Ms. Gerwig is also Kaiser Permanente's national leader for Employee Safety, Health and Wellness, responsible for eliminating workplace injuries, promoting healthy lifestyle choices, and reducing health risks for the organization's174,000 employees and nearly 17,000 physicians. She is on the boards of several leading non-governmental organizations focused on safety and environmental sustainability in health care.

Table of Contents

Preface
Acknowledgements
About the Author

1. Launching a Green Revolution in Health Care

2. The Health Implications of Climate Change

3. The Business Case for Total Health

4. Food for Health

5. Managing and Minimizing Hospital Waste

6. Green Chemicals and the Detoxing of Health Care

7. Environmentally Preferable Purchasing: What We Buy Matters

8. Greening the Built Health Care Environment

9. Measuring and Reporting: Sustainability Gets Sophisticated

10. Community Benefit and the Determinants of Health

Editorial Reviews

"Fascinating insights for anyone interested in environmental protection and its impact on human health." —Wall Street Journal

"It's just one example of a troubling paradox: an industry devoted to health produces more than its share of waste, greenhouse gases and toxic air emissions - all of which make people sick. What's more, some hospitals still feed sugary soft drinks and Jell-O to patients and employees alike. That makes no sense, argues Gerwig, who has worked on sustainability issues at Kaiser for more than 20 years." -The Guardian

"Greening Health Care could not have arrived at a more important time. Physicians, nurses, health care executives, and boards of trustees will find that this well-written book provides an excellent way forward and a clear blueprint for change." - The Hastings Center Report

From the Publisher