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PRODUCTS & SERVICES Sponsored by Environmental Sustainability: T


o some, environmental sustainability represents one of those “damned-if- you-do-and-damned-if-you-don’t” idiomatic exercises in that whatever you decide likely will attract criticism, debate and some form of ridicule. Either it’s is too burdensome and costly,


it panders to the hippie left and politically correct agendas, it’s nothing more than busywork around quotas or it fuels an ego-centric superiority complex. To others, it’s contributing in some way


to a higher cause, it respects the finite resources available while keeping future accessibility and availability in mind, it provides “healthier” alternatives to cur- rent behaviors and consumption patterns or it represents how to maneuver public opinion and move market share. All told, environmental sustainability is neither a fad or a trend, but a philosophy with roots and tentacles that have been – and will continue – burrowing deep into administrative, clinical, financial and operational planning. The questions linger about how deeply, how pervasively and how quickly?


Making the case Among healthcare organizations, the outlook for environmental sustainability remains buoyant and sanguine, compared to the divergent and diverse points of view held by cynics, skeptics and procrastina- tors awaiting executive orders, financial studies or regulatory requirements re- garding more efficient use of products and services, including energy. In the past, proponents either empha- sized the effects on individual patient care or spread the evangelism out to entire communities and even the world. These days, however, they’re blurring the lines between the individual and the communal – locally, regionally and globally. “This is a human health issue,” asserted Mary Starr, Vice President, Member Care, Greenhealth Exchange (GX), a group


purchasing services orga- nization that specialized in environmentally sustain- able product evaluations, selections and contracting. “Not only [is it] around treatment and exposure within the walls of the hospital, but also environmental factors our facilities impact in our communities and our world. From the decisions we make around a medical product going in to a patient to the energy we use and waste we create. As an example, the U.S. healthcare sector is responsible for nearly 10 percent of the country’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. U.S. hospitals gen- erate one-third of those emissions. If the U.S. healthcare sector were a country, it would rank 13th in the world for GHG emissions.”


Mary Starr


Rob Chase, Founder and President, NewGen Surgical, con- nects the dots between “the primary mission of healing patients and the counterproductive un- healthy waste generated that contributes to pollu- tion.” In fact, Chase sees healthcare professionals starting to high- light and report on their environmental impact.


Rob Chase


“The idea of ‘doing no harm’ has now reached beyond individual patient care to planetary care,” Chase told Healthcare Purchasing News. “Of the greenhouse gas emissions contributed by U.S. hospitals, 14 percent comes from purchased goods and services. Those goods result in 4.67 million tons of waste each year.” Chase contends that environmental


sustainability involves the individual but extends well beyond it to achieve any meaningful degree of progress. “As an industry, it will take a unified commitment to move healthcare forward,” Chase indicated. “One sustainability ini-


40 December 2019 • HEALTHCARE PURCHASING NEWS • hpnonline.com


More process than progress? Swirling, succeeding in ‘circular economy’ knows no bounds by Rick Dana Barlow


tiative at one system will not significantly move the needle, but a change in behavior across all hospitals can make an impact. During the Global Climate Action Summit held in San Francisco last year, I heard Ber- nard Tyson with Kaiser Permanente state that sustainability programs at Kaiser will not be enough to help the industry, but all industry stakeholders were needed. That message was repeated by all respective industry leaders.” Ensuring individual safety – patient and clinician – remains a most compelling ar- gument, according to Cristina Indiveri, Se- nior Director, Program Services, Vizient. “Many people define


environmentally pre- ferred sourcing (EPS) as purchasing products that are better for the environ- ment, but this is only one factor,” Indiveri noted. “At its core, it’s about pa- tient safety and improving human and environmental health. “There are different subsets of patients,


Cristina Indiveri


and some have more vulnerability to toxic chemicals than others, such as infants and patients with compromised immune systems,” Indiveri continued. “EPS is about removing toxic chemicals from the healthcare supply chain to ensure patient wellbeing, but it’s also about the safety of clinicians who may be exposed to harm- ful chemicals on a day-to-day basis for long periods of time. Environmentally preferred sourcing helps ensure that they are not inadvertently harmed while sup- porting the healing process for patients.” Economic and fiscal restraints continue to cloud progress and shroud achieve- ment, several executives lament. “As healthcare providers are increasingly expected to do more with less, cost can certainly become a roadblock in embracing envrionmental sustainability practice,” said Francesca Olivier, Senior Director, Innova- tion and Corporate Social Responsibility,


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