Building Healthcare and Business Climate Resilience
Moderator: Brenna Davis | Director of Sustainability, Virginia Mason
Colleen Groll | Manager of Sustainability Programs, Seattle Children's
Hospital
Ngozi Oleru | Division Director, Environmental Health, Public Health
Seattle & King County
Angie Woo | Climate Resiliency and Adaptation Lead, Fraser Health
Building Health Care and Business Resilience
Brenna Davis, M.S. Sustainability Director, Virginia Mason Health System
GoGreen 2017
© 2014 Virginia Mason Medical Center
Source: American Academy for the Advancement of Science
Image: http://www.newscientist.com
“Climate scientists agree: climate change is happening here and now.”
© 2014 Virginia Mason Medical Center
Climate Impacts in Pacific Northwest
4
The Best Case Scenario
© 2014 Virginia Mason Medical Center
On Our Doorstep
5
© 2014 Virginia Mason Medical Center
Climate change presents a "serious, immediate
and global threat to human health.”
Vivek Murthy, M.D. – Surgeon General of the United States
© 2014 Virginia Mason Medical Center
National Priority
https://www.whitehouse.gov/climate-change
© 2014 Virginia Mason Medical Center
Transition to Low Carbon Healthcare
© 2014 Virginia Mason Medical Center
Health Care Advocacy
© 2014 Virginia Mason Medical Center
Climate Resiliency Toolkit
10
© 2014 Virginia Mason Medical Center
Resiliency Toolkit
© 2014 Virginia Mason Medical Center
Risk Dashboard - Impacts
12
© 2014 Virginia Mason Medical Center
Risk Dashboard – Heat Related Illness
13
© 2014 Virginia Mason Medical Center
Risk Dashboard – Energy Demand
14
© 2014 Virginia Mason Medical Center
PNW Healthcare Climate Resilience Summit
Seattle Childrens Hospital
University of Washington, Harborview Medical
Center
City of Seattle
University of Washington
University of Washington
Virginia Mason Medical Center
Healthcare without Harm
Virginia Mason Memorial - Yakima
City of Seattle
University of Washington
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
(HHS)
Frasier Health
Consultant
NW Kidney
Evergreen Hospital
University of Washington
Northwest Hospital and Medical Center
Consultant
Interior Health
Virginia Mason
The Fearey Group
Virginia Mason Medical Center
Paulk Creative
Island Health (Vancouver)
Island Health (Vancouver)
15
© 2014 Virginia Mason Medical Center
Next Steps
• Collaboration & shared resources across borders.
• Future events to advance the work
• Development of a practice appropriate to our region.
• Promotion of the toolkit as a starting point.
16
Climate Change and Community Resilience Health GoGreen Conference 2017
Ngozi T. Oleru, PhD
Director, Environmental Health Services Division
Public Health – Seattle & King County
Our opportunity: Create conditions for a
healthy, equitable, low-carbon future
Adaptive Capacity & Resilience
Influence Health Outcomes
Adaptive Capacity is the ability of communities,
institutions, or people to adjust to potential
hazards, to take advantage of opportunities,
or to respond to consequences.
Resilience is the ability to prepare and plan for,
absorb, recover from, and more successfully
adapt to adverse events.
Balbus, J., A. Crimmins, J.L. Gamble, D.R. Easterling, K.E. Kunkel, S. Saha, and M.C. Sarofim, 2016: Ch. 1:
Introduction: Climate Change and Human Health. The Impacts of Climate Change on Human Health in the United
States: A Scientific Assessment. U.S. Global Change Research Program, Washington, DC, 25–42.
http://dx.doi.org/10.7930/J0VX0DFW
Purpose of Adaptation Plans
Ensure the health sector works with partners in the environment and other related communities, and follows a systematic process to
Engage in the overall adaptation process
Identify strategic goals for building health resilience to climate change
Develop a plan with prioritized activities to achieve these goals, within a specified time period and given resources
Essential Services of Public Health
Assessment Climate Change Role
Monitor health status to identify
and solve community health
problems.
Tracking of diseases and trends
related to climate change
Diagnose and investigate health
problems and health hazards in
the community.
Investigation of infectious water-,
food-, and vector-borne
disease outbreaks
Assurance Climate Change Role
Evaluate effectiveness,
accessibility, and quality of
personal & population-based
health services.
Existence/Availability of
preparedness efforts such as heat-
wave plans
Policy Development Climate Change Role
Inform, educate, and empower
people about health issues.
Informing the public &
policymakers about health
impacts of climate change
Mobilize community partnerships
and action to identify and solve
health problems.
Public health partnerships… to
craft and implement solutions
Public Health – practice and planning
Examples of Current Practice: Promote land use and transportation policies that support healthy
choices – active transportation, park/green space planning;
reduce air pollution; support economic prosperity for all
Emergency preparedness/response during events – heat events,
flooding
Blueprint for Climate Change, Health & Equity:
Goal: Develop integrated Public Health system that addresses the
intersection of climate change, health and equity and reflects
the values, concerns and priorities of Public Health, partners and
our community.
Engage internal and external stakeholders to solicit input to
develop a Blueprint
Raise awareness and increase understanding about climate
change and health
Preliminary Blueprint Development
Findings: Key Themes
Community’s main concerns focused on key issues such as healthy, affordable food access; housing; and, transportation.
Inadequate representation and connection with community on planning efforts.
Public Health Department has a unique
connection to the community. Public Health can be an effective
communication framework. Critical to consider near and long term
health impacts of climate change.
Resources Climate Change: The Public Health Response
Howard Frumkin et al., AJPH, March 2008, Vol 98, No. 3.
Building Resilience Against Climate Effects (BRACE) at CDC.
USGCRP: Impacts of Climate Change on Human Health in the U.S. (April 2016):
https://health2016.globalchange.gov
King County Office of Equity and Social Justice:
http://www.kingcounty.gov/elected/executive/equity-social-justice.aspx
Contact Information
Ngozi T. Oleru, PhD
Director, Environmental Health Services Division
Public Health – Seattle & King County
Climate Risks & Impacts to Health Care Service Delivery
Angie Woo, Climate Resilience & Adaptation, Lead Energy & Environmental Sustainability (EES)
DRAFT - BC Ministry of Health & Climate Action Secretariat
= likelihood x exposure x vulnerability
Risks
= probability x consequence
Impacts
SUSTAINABLE AND CLIMATE-RESILIENT
HEALTH CARE FACILITIES TOOLKIT
https://toolkit.climate.gov/topics/human-health/building-climate-resilience-health-sector
2080 (+3.5C) 1961-1990 2050 (+2.2C)
Hope Fraser Canyon Hospital
Vancouver
Thank You!
Source: http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=85932
Seattle Children’s -
Climate Resilience
Colleen Groll
Manager, Sustainability Programs
Seattle Children’s
Seattle Children’s
• Established in 1907, operating for 110 years
• Children – one of the most vulnerable populations to the
health effects of climate change
• Mission alignment - we provide hope, care and cures to
help every child live the healthiest and most fulfilling life
possible.
Seattle Children’s
• 5800 hospital employees,
another 800 in Research and
Foundation
• Northeast Seattle
• Residential neighborhood
Where to start on Climate Resilience?
• Gary Cohen
• Co-Founder and President of Health Care
Without Harm and Practice Greenhealth
• Robin Guenther, FAIA, LEED Fellow
• Principal at Perkins+Will
• Senior Advisor to Health Care Without Harm
Framework – 3 Pillars
• Mitigation
• Know Your Baseline
• Reduce Resource Use
• Reduce Environmental Impacts
• Resiliency
• Sustainability Initiatives
• Improve Infrastructure
• Community Partnerships
• Advocacy - Leadership
• Local, National
Resiliency
Advocacy
Mitigation
Mitigation - GHGe Inventory (Hospital)
Natural Gas, 53%
Company Owned Fleet, 3%
Anesthetic Gases , 3%
Electricity, 3%
Business Travel (Air), 6%
Business Travel
(Other), 1%
Paper, 3%
Commuting, 26%
Waste, 2%
Natural Gas
Company Owned Fleet
Anesthetic Gases
Electricity
Business Travel (Air)
Business Travel (Other)
Paper
Commuting
Waste
Seattle Children's Main
Campus
2015 Greenhouse Gas
Mitigation - Energy Conservation
• 20% reduction by 2020
• Multi-year plan
• Multi-year Infrastructure Upgrade Project - budgeted
• Hired a Certified Energy Manger/Mechanical Engineer
Mitigation - Commute Footprint
• Transportation Program
• Goal: decrease morning drive alone rate to 30%
• Deeply discounted unlimited ORCA transit pass
• A $4.50 daily commute bonus on days staff do not drive alone
• Free, premium vanpool parking
• Bike program
Improve Resilience
• Hospitals - Robust disaster planning
• Goal – Operate continuously or re-open quickly
• HHS Climate Risks and Community Vulnerabilities
checklist
• Extreme Heat, Communications
• Next steps – More research; Gap analysis
Improve Resilience - Initiatives
• Paper Reduction
• Waste Anesthesia Gas Reduction
• Shuttle Fleet – Propane, efficient routes
Advocacy - Leadership
• National Leaders
• Health Care Without Harm
• Cleveland Clinic, Virginia Mason,
Kaiser Permanente
• Seattle Children’s
• Health Care Climate Council
• Pacific NW Health Care Sustainability
Leaders
• Practice Greenhealth, Top 25
• Healthier Hospitals Initiative
17.5% - Seattle
34% - Other King County
44.5% - Other WA Counties
96% - WA State
3% - AK, MT, ID
1% - Outside WAMI
Zip Code Is More Predictive of Health
Than Genetic Code
Source: Communities of Opportunity
Contact Information
• Colleen Groll, MSN, LEED AP
• Manager, Sustainability Programs
• Seattle Children’s