Editor's Note In 2023, hospitals and surgical centers saved more than $465 million and prevented nearly 98 million pounds of greenhouse gas emissions by utilizing reprocessed single-use medical devices, according to a survey by the Association of Medical Device Reprocessors (AMDR). DotMed reported the news October 21. The data indicate…

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Editor's Note If global healthcare were a country, it would rank as the fifth-largest emitter of greenhouse gases. So says Dr. Sofya Asfaw, a trauma and critical care surgeon at Cleveland Clinic, in a JAMA Network video on “greening” the OR. Published July 17, the short film features experts like…

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Editor's Note Joint Commission International (JCI) and the International Hospital Federation's Geneva Sustainability Centre (GSC) have introduced a new Healthcare Sustainability Certification (HSC) for healthcare organizations outside the U.S., according to a September 11 report from The Joint Commission. The goal of the new initiative is to address the nearly…

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Editor's Note Effective waste segregation and adopting a circular economy approach can significantly reduce environmental impact of incinerating hospital waste incorrectly classified as hazardous, according to a narrative review published August 19 in the Medical Journal of Australia. However, surgeons' concerns about patient safety and insufficient systemic policies can hinder…

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More than 4 years after personal protective equipment production and inventories crashed amid the global COVID-19 pandemic, the “new normal” in healthcare supply chains seems to be “uncertainty.” Although hospital margins are improving and patient volumes are trending upward, “stress fractures continue to remain in place,” says Michael Schiller, CMRP,…

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Editor's Note Citing environmental concerns, multiple health systems have stopped using desflurane anesthesia gas, Becker’s Hospital Review reported on May 7. Citing the Philadelphia Inquirer, the outlet notes that Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and Marlton, N.J.-based Virtua Health are among those that have eliminated the gas so far, with the…

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Editor's Note New standards from The Environmental Protection Agency promise to cut nationwide emissions of ethylene oxide—employed to sterilize more than half of US medical devices—by more than 90 percent. According to a March 15 MedPage Today report, the aim is to reduce cancer risk among the 13 to 14…

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What is the purpose of the top 10 health technology hazards list, released every year by ECRI? “Our number one goal at ECRI is to reduce preventable harm,” stresses Jason Launders, MSC, former director of operations, device evaluation, at ECRI. “We know that every healthcare provider has a lot they…

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Editor's Note The sustainability team at Seattle Children's Hospital has reduced anesthesia-related emissions by 87%, a Becker's Hospital Review October 26 webinar reported. According to the webinar presenters, the team at Seattle Children's first gathered electronic medical record (EHR) data from their anesthesia gas machines, then implemented steps to limit…

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Editor’s Note Michelle Larson, DNP, RN, NE-BC, Nurse Administrator at Mayo Clinic, posed this quote from Dr Charles Mayo, founder of the Mayo Clinic, when opening the session, “Designing a Sustainable Model for your Future OR Today”: “If we excel in anything, it is in our capacity for translating idealism…

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