Health Care SOS: Sharing on Sustainability

In this episode, we discuss why waste audits are useful. We review the planning and the logistics involved with conducting a hospital waste audit. Our guests include hospitalists that led a 24-hour waste audit on a 20-bed inpatient unit at MGH, and the director of the Environmental Services Department at MGH.

For more information on this podcast, our guests, and additional resources go to: https://www.massgeneral.org/environment-an...

In this episode, Dr. Duhaime discusses the history of the Journal of Climate Change and Health and opportunities related to publications. She then discusses the environmental impact of research, introduces steps that researchers can consider in greening their labs, and describes the consult service created at MGH to help investigators with these efforts.

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In this episode, we are joined by Dr. Melanie Haines, who is an endocrinologist in the Neuroendocrine Unit at Massachusetts General Hospital. Dr. Haines has always been passionate about environmental conservation. But she felt a new call to action after a patient of hers was admitted to the hospital with a serious medical condition exacerbated by an extreme heat event in Boston, 2021. Dr. Haines shares how she took this call to act...

Pollution and the climate crisis are having enormous impact on the health of our patients. But are we teaching our future physicians how to recognize, manage, or prevent these consequences? Dr. Jake Fox, a third-year internal medicine resident at Massachusetts General Hospital, discusses how he pushed for more education on these issues, and other ways he is trying to make a difference. 

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In the United States, it is estimated that operating rooms contribute approximately 30% of the 5 million tons of waste generated by hospitals each year. And of that OR waste, about 20% comes from blue wrap. In this episode, Barbara Belanger, a perioperative nurse at Massachusetts General Hospital discusses some key initiatives around her OR: blue wrap recycling and food waste diversion.

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In this podcast episode, we are going to chat with two college students, Sara Weinberg and Cole Peterson, to share as case examples about the mutually beneficial relationships and opportunities for growth that can come from working together at an academic medical center on healthcare sustainability.

You can visit our landing page at massgeneral.org/healthcaresos for their bios, and links to resources that we will discuss.

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In 2022, 102 organizations representing 837 hospitals signed the White House Health Sector Climate Pledge. In addition to the private sector, federal systems are working to meet similar goals. Combined, this represents over 15% of U.S. hospitals that have committed to cutting carbon emissions with a net zero goal. Taking inventory of one’s carbon footprint is one of the earliest steps to achieve this ambitious but necessary net zer...

In this podcast episode, you’ll hear from Dr. Elizabeth Pinsky, a pediatrician and child psychiatrist. She shares her perspectives about climate activism and advocacy, and a recipe for how to incorporate this important work into professional life in the healthcare system. For more information about Dr. Pinsky, as well as resources relevant to this episode, please check out our landing page at massgeneral.org/healthcaresos.

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