University of Kwazulu-Natal

Uci Health S Efforts To Heal The Environment

Bonisiwe Shabane
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uci health s efforts to heal the environment

At UCI Health, caring for our patients and our community means caring for our environment. We believe that sustainability, social equity and economic vitality are inextricably linked. As one of the largest academic health systems in California, we are answering the urgent call to build a healthcare model that is sustainable and resilient to the growing threat of climate change. By actively incorporating sustainable practices into our operations — reducing operating room emissions and medical waste, for example — we create a healthier, brighter future for Orange County and beyond. UCI Health recognizes the critical link between the health of our patients and the health of the environment. As a forever organization, we are committed to modeling environmental stewardship and promoting the health and resilience of the people and communities we serve, while safeguarding the environment for future generations.

We are dedicated to advancing our vision for sustainability through discovery, innovation and excellence. The University of California has established goals in 13 areas of sustainable practices that focus on responsible stewardship of resources, demonstrated leadership in sustainable business practices, and centering equity, climate and environmental justice in... These goals can be found in the UC Sustainable Practices Policy. Below, find the progress of UCI Health across several impact areas and in relation to the policy's goals. More information can be found in the UCI Health Sustainability Annual Report. Green efforts have targeted sustainable electricity, reduced medical gas use and electric grounds equipment.

Most institutional and commercial organizations have undertaken projects and programs that aim to minimize their facilities’ impact on the environment. Many have gone further and revamped everything from purchasing to operations to improve their sustainability. Only a select few organizations, however, have made sustainability a centerpiece of their new and existing facilities from top to bottom. UCI Health is one of these facilities. The clinical enterprise of the University of California Irvine has been recognized by Practice Greenhealth as a national leader in environmental sustainability, winning two Circle of Excellence awards for energy and climate. The awards honor the highest-performing hospitals nationwide in each area.

Winners must achieve at least its 'Greenhealth Partner for Change' award status and demonstrate outstanding performance and metrics in a specific sustainability impact area. For Joe Brothman, UCI Health’s director of facilities and general services, such recognition comes partly as a result of several projects in which he and his department have been deeply involved. Brothman’s 200-person department is responsible for a range of facilities — some more than a century old — and the portfolio is growing. A recent trend report showed hospital executives are still holding strong to sustainability-related commitments regardless of federal changes. University of California, Irvine (UCI) Health is embodying that with its new all-electric hospital, set to open Dec. 10.

UCI Health says the new hospital is the first all-electric acute care hospital of its size in the country, featuring renewable solar park structures, electric instead of gas for utilities like heating and hot... And electricity isn’t the only sustainable feature at the 350,000-square-foot, 144-bed hospital, Brothman said. The hospital also has rainwater collection built into its landscaping that uses recycled water, bird-friendly glass, around 87% outdoor water reduction and about 38.5% indoor water reduction, and energy efficient equipment for lighting along... “It’s a significant cost to make this all-electric [hospital], but we do anticipate, in the long run, that we will have a cost savings, especially with the rising costs of natural gas,” Brothman said. In fiscal year 2024, UCI Health continued its commitment to sustainability. Construction on the nation’s first all-electric medical center continued, completing the fully electric Joe C.

Wen and Family Advanced Care Center. UCI Health continued its decarbonization efforts to meet the White House Climate Pledge to reduce emissions 50% by 2030. In an effort to reduce anesthetic gas emissions, UCI Health transitioned away from piped nitrogen dioxide to administer through canisters in all operating rooms, resulting in a 26% decrease of purchased nitrous oxide from... The location completed a decarbonization study to determine a roadmap to reduce emissions by 90% by 2045. UCI Health increased its medical device reprocessing efforts, doubling cost savings to $1.6 million and successfully diverting over 10 tons of waste, underscoring a commitment to both financial performance and environmental stewardship. To increase the percentage of clean energy vehicles in its fleet, Parking & Transportation Services replaced two fossil fuel-powered patient shuttles with two electric shuttles and has two more on order for fiscal year...

The Facilities Department continued to add bicycles to its 35 human-powered fleet and replaced all combustion landscaping equipment with electric equipment. Additionally, UCI Health added bicycle rack infrastructure to the main hospital campus and off-site clinics. To continue building out its electric vehicle infrastructure, UCI Health added 17 dual port charging stations with a project to install 10 more charging stations planned for fiscal year 2025. UC Irvine Health saw a decrease in its EUI in the calendar year 2023. The all-electric, zero emission UCI Health Irvine Hospital paves the way for lowering the impacts of future health facilities. When the $1.3-billion UCI Health - Irvine Hospital & Ambulatory Care Center makes its debut this December, the project will be one of a kind.

The facility, on the campus of the University of California, Irvine (UCI), will be the first all-electric, zero-emission hospital in the nation. In going all-electric, Brian Pratt, campus architect at UC Irvine, says the project team looked at the UC system’s goal of decarbonizing its 10 campuses and six academic health centers by 2045, and “we... And so our campus leadership basically said, ‘Let’s set the standard for the future of hospitals.’” That ambitious goal also created major construction challenges for the CO Architects + Hensel Phelps design-build team, which worked in close collaboration with UCI Health. In September, the team reached substantial completion on the project and officially handed the ceremonial master key to UCI Health leadership. The new facility will offer a 350,000-sq-ft specialty hospital, a 220,000-sq-ft ambulatory care center (ACC) and parking structure, but the star of the show is the massive, 31,848-sq-ft central utility plant that supplies power...

Health and wellbeing are linked to environmental health. UCI prioritizes human health through its built environment and initiatives. The built environment is intentionally designed in a way that prioritizes air quality and access to natural areas. The campus is built with the naturescape intentionally accessible for all to enjoy. The UC Policy on Sustainable Practices sets forth guidelines for campuses to follow in supporting healthy campuses. These include UC Healthy Vending Guidelines, policy recommendations, and more.

UCI was one of eight campuses to first adopt the Okanagan Charter. This initiative is multi-disciplinary and intended to help UCI become a globally recognized health promoting university. UCI Health is the only academic health system in Orange County and dedicated to sustainability operations. The new UCI Health – Irvine facility is the first all-electric hospital in the nation. SSIHI is committed to reimagining the future of healthcare by pioneering an interdisciplinary, evidence-informed, integrative approach to health and wellness. IN THE NEWS: A commitment to sustainability is the centerpiece of the new and existing facilities at UCI Health, including the new UCI Health — Irvine, now under construction.

In 2022, Practice Greenhealth, a national leader in healthcare environmental sustainability, recognized the enterprise for its commitment to reducing its carbon footprint. Joe Brothman, the academic health system’s director of facilities and general services, spoke to Healthcare Facilities Today about the changes that have resulted from that commitment: “The new facility that we're building in Irvine is going to be 100 percent electrified. There is no combustion on site, and it’s one of the first academic medical centers in the world to be a non-combustion central plant, a fully electrified central plant.” Sign up for our Live Well Blog newsletter Orange, Calif.

— UCI Health ― Orange, formerly known as UCI Medical Center, has been recognized as one of the nation’s top hospitals leading sustainability transformation with the prestigious Practice Greenhealth Top 25 Environmental Excellence Award. This is the first time the hospital has received the Top 25 honor and the fourth consecutive year it has been recognized by the organization with an award. "This award further underscores the leadership of UCI Health in environmental stewardship and excellence in sustainable healthcare practices," said Chad T. Lefteris, president and CEO of UCI Health. "At the heart of our efforts to integrate sustainable practices into our organization is a dedication to the health and well-being of our community. We are proud to lead by example in the transformation of healthcare.”

Practice Greenhealth is the nation’s leading organization dedicated to environmental sustainability in health care. More than 1,400 U.S. hospitals and healthcare systems are part of the Practice Greenhealth network. ORANGE, Calif. — UCI Medical Center, the flagship location of UCI Health, has earned The Joint Commission’s Sustainable Healthcare Certification. It is the first University of California hospital and fourth healthcare organization in the state to be certified.

Recognition from The Joint Commission demonstrates the achievement of UCI Health, powered by UC Irvine, in establishing structure, rigor and accountability to accelerate its sustainability efforts. “UCI Health is proud to have achieved this milestone certification as a forever organization that is leading the healthcare industry in building a model that is sustainable and resilient to climate change,” says Nathan... “As one of the largest academic health systems in the state, we are proud to answer the call.” “Certification from The Joint Commission is an important validation of the enormous strides UCI Health has made toward answering the urgent call to build a model of healthcare that is sustainable for generations to... "The health of our patients and environment are critically linked, so we are committed to building a healthier future for Orange County and California.” Orange, Calif.

— UCI Health has again been recognized for its leadership in healthcare sustainability with the Greenhealth Emerald Award in the annual Practice Greenhealth Environmental Excellence Awards. The award for Orange County’s only academic health system is an affirmation of its dedication to improving its environmental performance and building sustainability and resiliency into its operations and culture. The competitive honor recognizes the top 20% of applicants. Practice Greenhealth, a national organization dedicated to environmental sustainability in healthcare, also honored UCI Health in other categories: "This award further confirms the commitment of UCI Health to environmental stewardship and excellence in sustainable healthcare practices," said Chad T. Lefteris, president and CEO of UCI Health.

"Our efforts to integrate sustainability into operations not only demonstrate our responsibility to the environment but also our dedication to the health and well-being of our community. We are proud to lead by example in the transformation of healthcare toward greener and more sustainable practices."

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