{"id":14018,"date":"2016-11-04T17:58:41","date_gmt":"2016-11-04T21:58:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/digital.hbs.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/unexpected-partnerships-climate-change-healthcare-and-partners-healthcare-hospitals\/"},"modified":"2016-11-04T17:58:41","modified_gmt":"2016-11-04T21:58:41","slug":"unexpected-partnerships-climate-change-healthcare-and-partners-healthcare-hospitals","status":"publish","type":"hck-submission","link":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/unexpected-partnerships-climate-change-healthcare-and-partners-healthcare-hospitals\/","title":{"rendered":"Unexpected Partnerships: Climate Change, Healthcare, and Partners Healthcare Hospitals"},"content":{"rendered":"

On October 23, 2016, Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), a national leader and #1 Hospital ranked by U.S. News & World Report,[1] was recently profiled in the <\/span>Boston Globe<\/span><\/i> for its plan to explore building a new \u2018green\u2019 pediatric hospital– structural innovations, energy efficiency, indoor greenhouse and all.[2] This comes after a series of \u2018green\u2019 initiatives rolled out by its parent umbrella organization, Partners Healthcare, across its hospital sites. While this may seem en vogue across industries, these \u2018green\u2019 choices have been deliberate. This post explores why environmental friendliness has important health implications, and how Partners has been a leader in the charge.<\/span><\/p>\n

Healthcare\u2019s Footprint<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), \u201cbetween 2030 and 2050, climate change is expected to cause approximately 250,000 additional deaths worldwide per year, from malnutrition, malaria, diarrhea, and heat stress.\u201d These translate to \u201cdirect damage costs to health (i.e. excluding costs in health-determining sectors such as agriculture and water and sanitation)…estimated…between US$ 2-4 billion per year by 2030.\u201d As these predictions show, climate change will have an important impact on health.[3] \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But, almost more importantly, these numbers speak to a capacity issue and need for hospitals to be more resilient in the face of climate change — something that was seriously reinforced when health care facilities were flooded by Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy, leading to untimely closures that turned patients away.[4]<\/span><\/p>\n

As healthcare delivery systems prepare for the future increased demand, they must also consider how they simultaneously contribute to climate change. While the healthcare sector represents approximately 18% of the US GDP,[4] hospitals have historically also spent $5.3 billion on energy every year, and use twice as much energy per square foot as traditional office space.[11] As large contributors to the economy, the healthcare sector must find a solution to these staggering negative contributions to global climate change.<\/span><\/p>\n

As an initial step, hospital networks have created shared agreements on reducing environmental impact, like the <\/span>2020 Health Care Climate Challenge<\/b> through Health Care Without Harm (HCWH). These agreements focus on <\/span>three pillars <\/span><\/i>towards successfully becoming more green: mitigation, resilience, and leadership.[6]<\/span><\/p>\n