{"id":8267,"date":"2016-11-03T00:47:08","date_gmt":"2016-11-03T04:47:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/digital.hbs.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/is-the-hospital-industry-feeling-under-the-weather-from-climate-change\/"},"modified":"2016-11-03T00:47:08","modified_gmt":"2016-11-03T04:47:08","slug":"is-the-hospital-industry-feeling-under-the-weather","status":"publish","type":"hck-submission","link":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/is-the-hospital-industry-feeling-under-the-weather\/","title":{"rendered":"Is the Hospital Industry \u201cFeeling Under the Weather\u201d?"},"content":{"rendered":"

What does Climate Change have to do with Hospitals?<\/strong><\/p>\n

What institution operates 24 hours a day on equipment, consuming 2.5 times the energy used in other sectors, emitting 56 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalents per year? [1] What is the same institution which serves the casualties related to climate change? The answer is the hospital. Partners Healthcare, a Boston-based, non-for-profit healthcare system that includes hospitals like Brigham and Women\u2019s Hospital and Massachusetts\u2019 General Hospital, is paving the way in incorporating climate change impacts in its top priority strategy.<\/p>\n

How is Partners Healthcare Adapting?<\/strong><\/p>\n

There are 3 main impacts on hospital systems which are impacted by climate change.<\/p>\n

1. Operational design to deal with extreme weather events<\/strong><\/p>\n

Currently, the healthcare sector\u2019s ability to respond to climate change is nascent in development. When Hurricane Sandy hit, Bellevue Hospital and NYU Langone Medical Center both had to evacuate because electric systems and backup generators were in the basement. It took more than two months before the hospital could operate again. Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, an affiliate of the Partners Healthcare system, instituted changes to its operation design to face the reality of climate change. One radical change is installing all electrical equipment on the roof of the facility rather than the basement. Other design changes include natural ventilation and on-site power generation, which allow\u00a0the hospital to operate even during the weather events [2].<\/p>\n

\"building\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Source: See Endnote [3]\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

2. Sustainability in reducing energy usage and emissions<\/strong><\/p>\n

In the US, healthcare represents 18% of the of the entire GDP, and it is likely that it will increase in the future [4]. Given its enormous economic weight, the healthcare industry has enormous power in influencing the country in reducing fossil fuel usage. The US healthcare consumes 8% of the nation\u2019s power and generates 8% of the country\u2019s carbon dioxide emissions [5].\u00a0 Hospitals release\u00a0tons of regulated medical and hazardous wastes each day, some of which incinerated, into the air. Partners Healthcare is a founding member of the Healthier Hospital Initiative, which is a coalition of major healthcare systems across US to improve sustainability and safety in healthcare. Partners Healthcare’s\u00a0primary goal is to reduce its energy consumption by 25% by 2020 [6]. \u00a0A couple of initiatives include:<\/p>\n