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Upcoming Events
Canadian Healthcare Forests: How to Bring Nature to Your Health Care Facility
Join the Coalition and PEACH to learn how integrating green spaces and planetary health principles can enhance the well-being of healthcare workers, patients, and communities.
Date/Time: January 16, 2025, 12:00 PM EST via ZOOM
Register here: https://bit.ly/41ZrNqT
Rethinking Nitrous Oxide in Health Care: An Environmental and Economic Initiative
As part of the Coalition's Preparing Health Care Buildings for Net-Zero project, this upcoming webinar will provide education on the clinical uses for nitrous oxide and highlight the significant economic and environmental benefits to a nitrous oxide mitigation program.
Date/Time: January 20, 2025 07:00 PM EST via ZOOM
Register: https://conta.cc/4fT4W3R
Past Webinars
Preparing for Climate Change in Health Care Facilities: Extreme Heat
Climate change has led to an increased frequency and intensity of extreme heat and heatwaves. Prolonged periods of extreme heat impose cumulative stress on the human body, heightening the risk of heat-related illnesses and fatalities. This elevated health risk places additional demands on healthcare systems to treat affected individuals. Additionally, healthcare facilities face challenges in ensuring the safety of both patients and staff during such conditions, necessitating enhanced measures to manage indoor temperatures and mitigate heat exposure.
On July 25th, 2024 we welcomed Dr. Myles Sergeant to discuss heat impacts on health, Dr. Anna Gunz to discuss how we can prepare for heat in clinics and expert Ron Drummond to share preventative maintenance opportunities to reduce heat impacts in health care facilities.
Watch the webinar recording HERE. View the presentation slides HERE.
Preparing for Climate Change in Health Care Facilities: Air Quality and Smoke Management
Poor air quality caused by wildfire smoke poses major health risks for individuals and communities. With climate-related emergencies expected to worsen in the coming years, health care facilities will need to act swiftly to disaster-proof life-saving infrastructure to protect vulnerable patients and the health care workforce. For smoke-related issues, this may require essential structural and ventilation interventions.
On July 10th, 2024 we welcomed Dr. Courtney Howard to discuss the health impacts of smoke and Abdel Darwhich to detail smoke management for health care settings.
Watch the webinar recording HERE. View the presentation slides HERE.
Preparing for Climate Change in Health Care Facilities: Wildfire and Smoke
Wildfires threaten both the health of Canadians and the ability of health care facilities to provide the care. Last year’s wildfire season was the worst in Canadian history due to high drought, low moisture cover and high temperatures.
In this webinar heard how Interior Health in BC dealt with the wildfires and smoke last year, what resiliency and adaptation planning they have implemented and are considering, and how Emergency Management was coping on the ground. This information can help guide other health care organisations to be better prepared to deal with wildfires and smoke.
Watch the webinar recording HERE. View the presentation slides HERE.
How Canadian Nurses are Advancing Planetary Health: From the Local Stage to the International Arena
On May 8th, 2024 the Coalition, PEACH, CANE, and Ontario Nurses for the Environment celebrated nurses’ week by engaging with several nursing leaders who are actively advancing planetary health. From international action all the way to local advocacy, we are bringing together four incredible nurses who are working hard to protect the health of both people and the planet.D
Watch the webinar recording HERE. View the presentation slides HERE.
Climate Change and Pharmacy: A Place for Everyone
On April 23rd, 2024 CCGHC, PEACH, and CAPhE welcomed pharmacy professionals and students from across Canada to discuss their experience tackling climate change and environmental sustainability in the sector.
Watch the webinar recording HERE. View the presentation slides HERE.
Advancing Awareness and Adoption of Battery-Powered Micro-Mobility in Canada‘s Health Services Sector
On March 28th, 2024 the Coalition presented the third and final webinar in our ZEVAI project series, where we provided the results from our recent health care survey and shared interesting insights gathered from research, interviews, and data analysis.
Watch the webinar recording HERE. View the presentation slides HERE.
Opportunities for Battery-Powered Micro-Mobility in Health Care
On January 18th, 2023 the Coalition presented the first webinar in our ZEVAI project series. We welcomed champions from the Yukon Home Care Program and Hillside Home for Special Care (Nova Scotia), to introduce their successful e-bike initiatives and share how BPMM devices have aided health care delivery.
We will also invited Jane Hu from Cycling Without Age Canada to share their story and detail how other organizations can get involved in the program.
Watch the webinar recording HERE. View the presentation slides HERE.
CCGHC Presents: RETScreen and The Virtual Energy Analyzer: Real Properties
On February 23rd, 2024 from 12:00pm-1:30pm EST, attendees heard from expert Stephen Dixon and learnt about RETScreen® clean energy management software, gained exposure to The Virtual Energy Analyzer feature and discovered how RETScreen can help reduced greenhouse gas emissions at health care facilities.
Watch the recording HERE.
The Future of Battery-Powered Micro-Mobility in Health Care and Beyond
On January 29th, 2023 the Coalition presented the second webinar in our ZEVAI project series. We welcomed representatives from the Canadian Electric Bicycle Association (CEBA), Elocity and the VCT Group to discuss the future of battery-powered micro-mobility in health care and beyond.
Watch the webinar recording HERE. View the presentation slides HERE.
Look Ma - No Gloves! Safely addressing unnecessary glove use
November 14th, 2023 at 8am PT/11am ET
Join us for the first webinar of the CASCADES and Canadian Coalition for Green Health Care "Addressing Unnecessary Glove Use" series where we delve into the various approaches employed by organisations to tackle the issue of unnecessary glove use.
Manufactured from synthetic materials such as latex, nitrile or vinyl, single-use gloves have a financial cost as well as an environmental and health impact.
Representatives from the NHS, British Columbia and Quebec will provide an in-depth look into the genesis of their groundbreaking initiatives to promote the appropriate use of gloves in health care settings.
Watch the recording HERE.
View the presentation slides HERE.
Creating Space and Healing Climate Emotions for Planetary Health
November 8th, 2023 at 9am PT/12pm ET
As we continue to see communities and health systems across Canada being affected by climate change, many individuals including health care workers are dealing with feelings of grief, depression, anxiety and hopelessness as it relates to our environment. As climate change-related impacts increase we are seeing the instances of these feelings intensify and rightfully so!
Join the Canadian Coalition for Green Health Care and PEACH Health Ontario as we welcome speakers Anna Gunz, Kady Cowan and Nate Charach to discuss how we can help individuals express these feelings to transform them into planetary healing.
Watch the recording HERE.
Where is the Money? Investment and divestment considerations for health care workers, associations and foundations
October 19th, 2023 at 9:00 am PST/ 12:00 pm EST
Join CASCADES and the Canadian Coalition for Green Health Care for a panel discussion of perspectives on finance, climate, and the health sector.
As we approach COP28, many of us will be hearing more and more analysis of the role money and investment plays in shaping climate policy. Pension plans, hospital foundations, and professional associations are just some of the ways that people and organizations in the health sector face decisions around financial investments. Hear from speakers about how these investment decisions can account for climate risk and promote climate action.
Watch the recording HERE.
View the presentation slides HERE.
Climate Smart Health Care Solutions: Benefits of Reuse and Repair
June 27th, 2023 at 9:00 am PST/ 12:00 pm EST
Watch as we explore the circular economy as an opportunity to reduce the environmental impacts of hospital-generated waste and improve the efficiency of health care delivery. Attendees will hear from two innovative companies that have committed to climate-smart health care solutions that reduce waste and carbon emissions, ensure a secure supply of health care materials, and result in long-term cost savings.
A representative from EcoTex Healthcare Linen Service will share how their reprocessing facilities provide important hygienically clean linens (including reusable gowns) to hospitals across the country. Surface Medical Inc. will also discuss how their product, CleanPatch®, quickly and effectively repairs medical surfaces including mattresses, stretchers and wheelchairs.
Watch the recording HERE.
Benchmarking for a Sustainable Future in Long-Term Care Homes and Retirement Homes
May 30th, 2023 at 9:00 am PST/ 12:00 pm EST
Watch the Canadian Coalition for Green Health Care's webinar outlining our success in developing Canada’s new (and only) Long-Term Care Home (LTCH) and Retirement Home (RH) Scorecard for benchmarking environmental performance. The areas of focus include energy, waste, water, pollution prevention, policy and leadership, transportation, food and climate change. Hear about the results of our pilot with LTCH's and RH's as well as watch a demonstration of the online benchmarking tool. Learn about the benefits of benchmarking your facility, including examples of best practices to reduce energy consumption, and how this tool can support decision-makers in these sectors.
Watch the recording HERE.
View the presentation slides HERE.
Stores and Celebration: Nurses Passionate about Planetary Health
May 17th, 2023 at 5:30 pm PST/ 8:30 pm EST
On the heels of nursing week, join the Canadian Coalition for Green Health Care, Peach Health Ontario and CASCADES for a celebration of nurses embedding planetary health into their practice. On May 17, nurses from the Ontario Nurses for the Environment Interest Group of RNAO and the Canadian Association of Nurses for the Environment will come together and share stories of their work and visions for a healthier tomorrow. We invite everyone interested in the environment and health to celebrate, listen and engage with these nurses' unique stories.
Objectives:
- Highlight and celebrate the contributions of nurses supporting planetary health
- Inform the audience of the diverse ways nurses embed this work into their practice and bring to life the work of CANE and ONEIG
- Provide space to support a growing community of practice of nurses and other healthcare professionals invested in planetary health
Watch the recording HERE.
Mitigation and Resilience: Hospitals taking climate action
May 4th, 2023 at 9:00 am PST/ 12:00 pm EST
Approximately 5% of greenhouse gas emissions in Canada come from the health care system. With the growing reality of the climate crisis and the impacts of the extreme weather events we have already starting to witness, it is more important than ever that health care facilities take steps to reduce their carbon emissions and ensure their facilities are climate resilient.
Join the Canadian Coalition for Green Health Care, PEACH Health Ontario, and CASCADES as we welcome representatives from Health Care Without Harm (HCWH), The Integrated Health and Social Services Center (CISSS), Synergie Santé Environnement (SSE) and the New St Paul’s Hospital Project, in Vancouver, B.C to describe their actions on climate change mitigation and resilience.
Watch the recording HERE.
View the presentation slides HERE.
Pharmaceuticals in the Environment: Impacts on non-target organisms
March 28th, 2023 at 5:30 pm PST/ 8:30 pm EST
Join the Canadian Coalition for Green Health Care, PEACH Health Ontario, and CASCADES for an interactive webinar with pharmacist Gigi Wong who will present on the topic of pharmaceuticals in the environment.
In this one-hour session Gigi will describe how pharmaceuticals enter the environment; detail the environmental classification for pharmaceuticals and the properties of persistence, bioaccumulation and toxicity; as well as provide one example of wildlife that has been negatively impacted by the use of pharmaceuticals.
Watch the recording HERE.
View the presentation slides HERE.
Climate Change and Health: The Role of Radiology
March 9th, 2023 at 9 am PST/ 12 pm EST
Join the Canadian Coalition for Green Health Care, PEACH Health Ontario, and CASCADES as we welcome Dr. Maura Brown, MD, FRCPC, Diagnostic Imaging, BC Cancer Agency to speak on the topic of sustainable radiology in health care.
In this one-hour session Dr. Brown reviewed the concept of planetary health, outlined available choices in radiology departments and discussed the role of health care leaders in climate advocacy.
Myles Sergeant, PEng. MD, Executive Director of the Canadian Coalition for Green Health Care, then introduced the concept of sustainability criteria in RFPs.
Watch the recording HERE.
View presentation slides HERE.
Planetary Health Menus: Implementing plant-rich diets for people and the planet
January 31st, 2023 at 9 am PST/ 12 pm EST
Join the Canadian Coalition for Green Health Care, PEACH Health Ontario, CASCADES, and Nourish as we welcome speakers Elísabet H. Brynjarsdóttir and Lindi Close, master’s graduates of UBC, who will present on the integration of plant-rich menus within hospitals and long-term care centres. They will discuss the results of a survey conducted across Ontario, to gather information about plant-based initiatives In health care and share a simple tool developed to help those looking to make changes to their menu.
We also hear from Marianne Katusin, Director of Support Services at Halton Healthcare, who will speak about the process of integrating plant-based choices into hospital menus and Hayley Lapalme, Co-Executive Director of Nourish, will speak about Nourish’s new Planetary Health Menus climate program to help institutions reduce their food-related emissions.
Watch the recording HERE.
Hospital Pharmacies and the Climate Crisis
October 26th, 2022 at 8pm ET
The Canadian Coalition for Green Health Care, PEACH Health Ontario, and CASCADES partnered to welcome Dr. Shellyza Moledina Sajwani, for an overview of climate change's relevance to pharmacy. She specifically focuses on tangible objectives that can be completed within a hospital pharmacy setting, using the example of the Ottawa Hospital Pharmacy Environmental Stewardship Committee.
Watch HERE.
Climate smart health care solutions: Reusable Elastomeric Respirators
July 22, 2022
Presentations from the Canadian Coalition for Green Health Care, the Canadian Association of PPE Manufacturers, Dentec Safety, Precision ADM, and Prescientx who share their perspectives on the status of reusable elastomeric respirators in Canada.
Watch HERE.
"Do no harm... Is that it?" Let's build more sustainable health care. A clinicians guide.
June 28, 2022
This webinar defines sustainability terms and frameworks such as LEED and WELL, provides context for sustainability in the health care built environment in Ontario and British Columbia, identifies emerging trends for sustainable health care design, and provides insight into the design and project implementation process to leverage clinical advocacy.
Watch HERE.
Towards a Safe, Secure and Sustainable Reusable PPE System in Canadian Health Care
May 26, 2022
The Canadian Coalition for Green Health Care demonstrates how transitioning to a reusable PPE system can result in environmental benefits, cost savings, and stability for health care facilities. We show how all of this is possible without sacrificing the safety of patients and health care workers.
Watch HERE.