Since we began our work on Earth Day 2022 Clinicians for Climate Action has had several major achievements in promoting sustainability in healthcare.
C4CA is honored to be one of the top 10 finalists for the American Climate Leadership Awards 2024. The ACLAs showcase meaningful climate action at the local, regional and national levels so others may learn from - and model - these solutions.
On Earth Day 2024, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine Dean Dr. Anantha Shekhar formally announced the new Office of Sustainability in the Health Sciences (OSHS), which will increase education, awareness and implementation of sustainability measures. Dr. Noe Woods and Dr. Mike Boninger from C4CA will lead the office! Click here to read more about it.
In May 2023 Practice Greenhealth honored UPMC Magee Women's Hospital three Environmental Excellence awards! The Practice Greenhealth Environmental Excellence Awards are the nation's premier recognition program for environmental performance in the health care sector. The awards program recognizes health care facilities and health systems for their commitment to environmental stewardship and their sustainability achievements.
UPMC Magee Women's Hospital was awarded:
1) Partner for Change Award- recognizes superior performance in environmental sustainability, covering a range of different sustainability programs and activities. Winners have also made substantive progress on mercury elimination.
2) Greening the OR Recognition Award- honors facilities that have made substantial progress in reducing the impact of the surgical environment.
3) Circle of Excellence Award, Food Circle Honoree- celebrates hospitals who have not only earned an award for all around sustainability achievement, but who have also been identified as the top scoring programs for each category of sustainability.
The new UPMC Center for Sustainability was established to improve sustainability practices across the UPMC healthcare system. The Center will develop and implement UPMC's climate action plan.
On Earth Day April 26, 2022, we wrote a letter calling on UPMC leadership to commit to a plan for decarbonization. The letter was co-signed by nearly 300 UPMC health professionals, including physicians, nurses, allied health workers, students, researchers, division chiefs and department chairs. We received a prompt and encouraging response from the CEO. Within a few months, plans were set in motion, with UPMC joining the White House Health Sector Climate Pledge and the formation of the UPMC Center for Sustainability.
Improving healthcare sustainability can also result in significant cost savings. For each of our quality improvement projects we calculate both the carbon emissions reduction and the dollars saved.
For example, a recent project changed from single-use pulse oximeter probes in the radiology department to reusable probes. In the first month alone this simple change resulted in $1,900 saved and a 20.5 kg CO2 eq reduction (the amount of CO2 a car emits burning 2 gallons of gas).
Our goal is to have an annual report of our total emissions and document our path to net zero.
Dr. Maya Ragavan, assistant professor in the Division of General Academic Pediatrics, received a 2023 Sustainability Award from the University of Pittsburgh for her work with Clinicians for Climate Action, which focuses on community partnerships, environmental justice and health equity.