Drilling down a little further, the impact of climate change on hospitals in particular is enormous. For one, brown energy consumption will become more expensive. In addition, the impacts on human health will continue to burden an already strained health system. Elevated temperatures will increase the incidence of heat-related deaths, reduced air quality will exacerbate cardiovascular and respiratory illness as well as allergies, and rising water temperatures will increase vector-, food- and water-related infection risk [3].<\/p>\n
Leading the charge in sustainably delivering care is Gundersen Health System, a not-for-profit integrated-delivery system based in La Crosse, Wisconsin. In 2008 the organization developed its sustainability program, Envision, which set out to achieve \u201cenergy independence\u201d by 2014 through energy management, waste management and control, and recycling \/ reusing \/ remanufacturing. \u201cEnergy independence\u201d, meaning the generation of more energy renewably than is consumed via fossil fuels, was achieved in October 2014 [4].<\/p>\n
As part of its energy management plan Gundersen invested in a portfolio of renewable energy projects, running the gamut from solar, gas-to-energy, wind, biomass, to geothermal.<\/p>\n
Partnering with La Cross county, they were able to convert enough landfill biogas into electricity and heat to power one of their hospital campuses. Another significant collaboration is with Organic Valley, the national farmer-owned organic co-op, to run two wind turbine sites, generating over 10 million kW hours per year, equivalent to the energy extracted from 1 million cubic metres of natural gas. And generating over a third of Gundersen\u2019s total energy need is a biomass boiler installed on campus that uses clean organic wood fuel sources. Other renewable energy sources include: geothermal heat pump system, solar photovoltaic and hot water systems, and dairy manure digesters [5].<\/p>\n To add to the overwhelming success of its renewable energy projects, Gundersen\u2019s efforts to manage waste and remanufacture \/ reuse equipment and devices saved them over $500,000 annually. In all, the Evision grid generated 26M kWh per year, representing $1.8M in savings in 2014, and a total of $5.8M since 2008. [6]<\/p>\n Granted, these green innovations don\u2019t come cheap. Gundersen spent $40M in total on its renewable energy plan and $2M on energy conservation in 2008. Importantly, $11M in local, state, and federal grants were delivered in support of the effort.<\/p>\n Going forward, there is a significant opportunity for government entities and NGOs to invest further in sustainable healthcare delivery. Perhaps more immediate is the need for greater collaboration between hospital networks. Indeed, Envision has already facilitated other large systems to save in excess of 20% of their energy costs by sharing its own best practices around conservation. We are also seeing consortia like Health Care Without Harm and the Healthier Hospitals Initiative commit health systems to reduce their carbon footprint in the near term.<\/p>\n In April 2015 Gundersen joined Health Care Without Harm’s 2020 Healthcare Climate Challenge, an international call to action for hospitals to increase environment responsibility in their operations, increase climate resilience and readiness for shifts in disease burden related to climate change by working with public health departments, and educate physicians, nurses and the public about the link between health and climate change. [7]<\/p>\n In addition to continued involvement in these initiatives, there remains the opportunity to align its supply chain to its goals around health and climate change. For example, Gundersen could consider partnering with suppliers with superior green fuel standards, or outlining purchasing preference for energy efficient shipping.<\/p>\n Gundersen sets the standard for prioritizing and delivering sustainable care. But there is a high price to pay for complacency in promoting environmental health, and helping to reframe the discussion around climate change from purely a health issue to an environmental one.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n [Word count: 767]<\/p>\n <\/p>\n [1] \u201cEnvironmental Impacts of the U.S. Health Care System and Effects on Public Health.\u201d PLOS<\/em>. http:\/\/journals.plos.org\/plosone\/article?id=10.1371\/journal.pone.0157014#sec003<\/a>. 9 June 2016. Web. accessed Nov 2016.<\/p>\n [2] \u201c2012 Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey: Energy Usage Summary\u201d. US Energy Information Administration. <\/em>http:\/\/www.eia.gov\/consumption\/commercial\/reports\/2012\/energyusage\/<\/a>. 18 March 2016. Web. Accessed Nov 2016.<\/p>\n [3] \u201cClimate and Health Assessment\u201d. US Global Change Research Program. <\/em>\u00a0https:\/\/health2016.globalchange.gov\/<\/a>. Nd. Web. Accessed Nov 2016<\/p>\n [4] \u201cHospitals shift from fossil fuel to renewable energy sources\u201d. Modern Healthcare. <\/em>http:\/\/www.modernhealthcare.com\/article\/20141108\/MAGAZINE\/311089981<\/a>. Nov 8, 2014. Web. Accessed Nov 2016<\/p>\n [5] Company website. http:\/\/www.gundersenenvision.org\/renewable-energy<\/a>. Envision Gundersen Health System<\/em>. Nd. Web. Accessed Nov 2016<\/p>\n [6] \u201cBest Practices Sustainability, Innovative Advances in Sustainability: Gundersen Health System\u201d. Wisconsin Business.<\/em> https:\/\/www.wmc.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Env-Sustainability_Gundersen-Health-System.pdf<\/a>. 27 April 2015. Web. Accessed Nov 2016<\/p>\n [7] \u201c2020 Health Care Climate Challenge\u201d. Healthcare Without Harm. <\/em>https:\/\/noharm-global.org\/issues\/global\/2020-health-care-climate-challenge<\/a>. Nd. Web. Accessed Nov 2016<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n [Exhibit 1] \u201cGreen Health Systems Embrace Renewable Energy\u201d. Health Facilities Management<\/em>. http:\/\/www.hfmmagazine.com\/articles\/2234-green-health-systems-embrace-renewable-energy<\/a> . 6 July 2016. Web. Accessed Nov 2016<\/p>\n![\"Biomass](\"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2016\/11\/Gundersen-boiler.jpg\")
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