CHW Healthcare Blog

Changing Minds Will Change the World

In keeping with the dialogue of a previous post, we found this:

"Like me, you'd like to see a renaissance occur in which 'we will stop destroying the planet.' But this renaissance is not going to occur among people who imagine that humans belong to a species that is separate from the rest of the living community (and who therefore think, for example, that the mass extinctions we are bringing about are sad but not really life-threatening). Until they know--with the same certainty that they know the earth is round--that humans are intimately bound up with (and completely dependent on) the rest of the living community, why would they stop destroying the planet? You can't force them to stop; you can't make them stop by passing laws or by shooting them. Once their minds are changed they WILL stop, just as back in the fifteenth century mariners stopped worrying about sailing off the edge of the earth."

--Daniel Quinn, author of Ishmael: An Adventure of the Mind and Spirit

Losing the World's Wildlife

The world's biodiversity is shrinking:

The Living Planet Index monitors more than 1,400 species. From 1970 to 2005 the report shows an overall fall in population trends of 27%.

The declines are due to human activity such as habitat destruction, pollution, overexploitation such as fishing, the spread of invasive species and climate change.

Human beings are not separate from the rest of life on this planet. We are integrally part of it and dependent on it.

10 Awards for Green Health

We're very pleased to announce that 10 of our hospitals have been honored with awards from Practice Greenhealth for their commitment to a healthy environment.

• Sequoia Hospital in Redwood City was newly inducted into the Environmental Leadership Circle, Practice Greenhealth's highest award given annually in recognition for outstanding environmental innovation in health care. Organizations who have won this award have integrated environmental responsibility to such an extent that it has become part of their culture.
• Former winners Dominican Hospital in Santa Cruz and St. Joseph's Medical Center in Stockton remain in the Leadership Circle for their continued high performance in setting industry standards for waste reduction and pollution prevention.
• Saint Mary's Regional Medical Center in Reno and Mercy San Juan Medical Center in Carmichael received the Partner Recognition Award for beginning their commitment to a healthy environment.
• St. John's Pleasant Valley Hospital in Camarillo and St. John's Regional Medical Center in Oxnard received the Making Medicine Mercury Free Award. These hospitals also received the Partners for Change Award for their significant and sustainable progress toward reducing waste, preventing pollution, and eliminating mercury.
• St. Bernardine Medical Center in San Bernardino, Mercy General Hospital in Sacramento, and St. Elizabeth Community Hospital in Red Bluff also received the Partners for Change Award.

We're very proud of the work accomplished at these hospitals. At our core we understand the interconnection between a healthy environment and healthy people.

Protected Polar Bears

Polar bears have been given protected status because of their shrinking habitat.

A compelling look at the steady retreat of sea ice here.

Demands on Nature

Curious about how much land and ocean area are required to sustain your lifestyle?  Find out what your carbon footprint is here.

Zero Emissions City

MIT and the United Arab Emirates are teaming up to create the world's first zero-emissions city.

Good for the Planet, Good for the Patient

At CHW, we seek to create a healing environment while minimizing the environmental impact of our work. On our minds, if it's good for the planet, it's good for the patient.

One of the ways we're reducing our carbon footprint is through energy retrofits at our hospitals. Since 2001, we've identified and implemented specific projects aimed at reducing energy and water consumption. We estimate that our efforts are reducing electric consumption by 16 percent and natural gas consumption by 7 percent.

Marian Medical Center in Santa Maria, California, for example, has installed a state-of-the-art system of transforming methane gas waste from the local landfill into "green" energy. Not only is this process fueling and powering the hospital, it is also significantly reducing methane emissions into the environment.

Happy Earth Day

CHW has been a longtime advocate for environmental responsibility.

A look at our work can be found here.

In honor of Earth Day, a series of satellite images of the Earth.  More here.

Treading Lightly on the Planet

Can a health care company find ways to tread more lightly on the planet?

Why shouldn't hospitals be doing their part to protect the environment?  We think they should.  That's why we're implementing changes across our family of hospitals that reduce energy consumption and waste without sacrificing patient care.  It's clear that a healthier planet makes for healthier people, and that's our foremost goal, so we'll keep looking for ways to do more when it comes to wasting less.

To contribute your own thoughts on how we can collectively put our best foot forward where health care is concerned, add a comment to this post.

The Vision

At Catholic Healthcare West, we have always been of the mind that, first and foremost, we are here to serve our communities.  One aspect of that service, one that cannot be overlooked, is to advocate steadfastly for better care for all people.  Now more than ever, it is a societal imperative that we re-examine how healthcare resources are distributed.

We at CHW take it to be our responsibility, as leaders in the field, to provoke thought and discussion.  To that end, CHW is positing some fundamental questions about health care.  They are questions without easy answers, but as you well know, they are questions that must be addressed before positive change can begin.

Starting the week of April 7th we will take out a series of full page ads in The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal to bring attention to these fundamental issues.  We'd very much appreciate your participation in this conversation.  If anyone can make the debate a healthy one, it's you.