This session will be of interest to clinicians and administrators who are leading, engaged in, or poised to execute sustainability initiatives in their care settings. We want to learn what you are working on, what barriers you face, and how CASCADES might add value to/support your work.

August 3rd, 2021, 6:00-7:00 pm ET

Register here

This session will be of interest to clinicians and administrators who are leading, engaged in, or poised to execute sustainability initiatives in their care settings. We want to learn what you are working on, what barriers you face, and how CASCADES might add value to/support your work.

July 7th, 2021, 12:00-1:00 pm ET

Register here

In partnership with Emerging Leaders for Environmental Sustainability in Healthcare (ELESH), and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research's (CIHR) Institute of Health Services and Policy Research (IHSPR)

How can environmental sustainability be meaningfully incorporated into health service and policy research? Join us for an overview of the work being done to embed sustainability into the HSPR curriculum at IHPME (supported by an Adams Sustainability Innovation Prize), and into HSPR research across Canada. Featuring IHSPR Scientific Director Dr. Rick Glazier.

June 22nd, 2021, 12:00-1:00 pm ET

Register here

Indiana University Centre for Global Health presents the Global Health Research Virtual Speaker Series:

WHAT IS A SUSTAINABLE HEALTH SYSTEM? with Fiona Miller, PhD

Join Online: 

https://iu.zoom.us/j/93037329120?pwd=Y3kyMFEyU1JBckpQTnBjQWM0a3k5dz09

Password: research

Join by Phone: 646-558-8665 or 408-638-0986

ID: 93037329120

We have reached capacity for our April Masterclass; if you are interested in taking the course, please follow us on Twitter (@sushealsys) for announcements of future offerings.

DETAILS 

COURSE FORMAT: Online; Self-directed learning + four online sessions + optional follow-up session

DATES:

• Online content available: April 1-29, 2021 (Canvas)

• Weekly sessions: Thursday, April 8, 15, 22 & 29; 5:30-7:30 pm EST/6:30-8:30 pm AST (Zoom)

• Follow-up session: September 2021 (date TBD) (Zoom)

COST: $250 plus HST*  

*If cost is prohibitive, please contact us as some subsidies are available 

COURSE DESCRIPTION 

Climate change is recognized as the greatest threat to global health in the 21st century (Lancet, 2018; WHO, 2015; UCL/Lancet Commission, May 2009). Canada’s healthcare system is a large, resource-intensive sector of the Canadian economy; it is responsible for at least 4.6% of GHG and 5.1% of carbon dioxide emissions annually (Eckelman, 2018; Pichler, 2019), and ranks second in per capita health system emissions globally (Lancet, 2020). While the sector dedicated to extending and improving our quality of life is a significant contributor to a phenomenon putting human health at risk, there are many opportunities for the health sector to develop and implement sustainability interventions that protect, promote, and prioritize health. 

The Masterclass in Sustainable Health Systems is a professional education program for frontline staff and administrators and leaders within care delivery, professional, and support organizations with an interest in high quality, low carbon care. The program is offered online by the University of Toronto's Centre for Sustainable Health Systems in partnership with Dalhousie's Healthy Populations Institute. 

Through self-directed online learning and weekly Zoom meetings, participants will gain knowledge, develop skills, and forge collaborations that will help them advocate for and participate in a bottom-up and top-down shift toward a more environmentally sustainable health system. A certificate of completion will be awarded at the end of the course. 

AGENDA    

Week 1: Motivating Change: What is “sustainable healthcare” and why do we need it? 

• Meeting: Thursday, April 8th; 5:30-7:30 pm EST/6:30-8:30 pm AST (Zoom) 

Week 2: Initiating Change: Approaching sustainability through a Quality Improvement lens

• Meeting: Thursday, April 15th; 5:30-7:30 pm EST/6:30-8:30 pm AST (Zoom) 

Week 3: Measuring Change: Evaluating the impact of sustainability action 

• Meeting: Thursday, April 22nd; 5:30-7:30 pm EST/6:30-8:30 pm AST (Zoom) 

Week 4: Embedding Change: Turning sustainable practice into standard practice for system transformation 

• Meeting: Thursday, April 29th; 5:30-7:30 pm EST/6:30-8:30 pm AST (Zoom) 

LEARNING OBJECTIVES 

At successful completion of “Week 1: Motivating Change: What is “sustainable healthcare” and why do we need it?,” learners will be able to:   

• Recognize the range of environmental challenges facing the human community, and their implications for population health through a planetary health framework 

• Explain the environmental impacts of the health sector  

• Identify the characteristics of sustainable care  

• Recognize opportunities for sustainable improvements in the health sector  

At successful completion of “Week 2: Initiating Change: Approaching sustainability through a Quality Improvement lens,” learners will be able to:  

• Explain the Sustainable Quality Improvement (SusQI) Framework

• Explain the Quality Improvement process  

• Approach sustainability interventions and system change through a QI lens 

• Outline a strategy for testing a sustainability intervention 

At successful completion of “Week 3: Measuring Change: Evaluating the impact of sustainability action,” learners will be able to:  

• Understand the various indicators used to quantify environmental impact and how they relate to health systems 

• Begin to develop a sense of the different methods that can be used to quantify these indicators 

• Identify key data points that can be collected to make the case for change and to evaluate the success of the change 

At successful completion of “Week 4: Embedding Change: Turning sustainable practice into standard practice for system transformation,” learners will be able to:   

• Articulate concepts aimed at normalizing environmental sustainability in healthcare culture and practice 

• Identify strategies to scale up localized sustainability actions  

• Situate themselves as change agents within the broader movement for a health system-wide sustainability transition    

GUEST SPEAKERS 

Ali Abbass Anesthesiologist, St. Joseph’s Hospital

Dr. Ali Abbass is an anesthesiologist and chief of environmental stewardship and sustainability at St. Joseph's Health Centre in Toronto. Dr. Abbass created the first PVC Recycling initiative in North America when he started recycling PVC medical devices such as IV bags and oxygen mask and tubing waste at St. Joseph’s. He is currently working on PVC 123, the first national Medical PVC Recycling Partnership program, in partnership with Environment and Climate Change Canada and The Vinyl Institute of Canada.

Alex Cimprich PhD Candidate, Sustainability Management, School of Environment, Enterprise and Development, University of Waterloo

Alex is a PhD candidate in Sustainability Management in the School of Environment, Enterprise and Development at the University of Waterloo, where he also completed a Bachelor of Environmental Studies in Environment and Business and a Master of Environmental Studies in Sustainability Management. His research uses industrial ecology approaches, principally life cycle assessment, with a current focus on applications to healthcare sustainability.

Marianne Dawson Sustainability Consultant – Recycling & Waste Reduction, Energy and Environmental Sustainability, Facilities Management

Marianne Dawson works as a Sustainability Consultant in the Energy and Environmental Sustainability department, supporting the four Lower Mainland Health Organizations: Fraser Health, Providence Health, Provincial Health Services Authority, and Vancouver Coastal Health. She specializes in waste reduction and recycling strategies, programs, and projects to reduce the environmental impact of health care operations and improve the resiliency of health care facilities for human and environmental health. 

Marianne focuses on data collection and analysis, research and special projects, and staff education and engagement as tools to bring about lasting organizational change.

Daniel Rainham Associate Professor, Health Promotion; Senior Research Scientist Healthy Populations Institute

Daniel is an Associate Professor in the School of Health and Human Performance in the Faculty of Health and holds several cross-appointments in Community Health and Epidemiology, the College of Sustainability, and is the former Director of the Environmental Science program. He is also a Senior Research Scholar with the Healthy Populations Institute, is Co-Lead of the Creating Sustainable Health Systems in a Climate Crisis project, and is an Associate Scientist with the Maritime SPOR Support Unit in the Faculty of Medicine.

His research is focused at the nexus of population health science, environmental epidemiology and health geography, with a emphasis on people-environment interactions and health behaviours, the health benefits of nature contact in health promotion, and technological innovations in wearable data capture and spatial analytics.

Ed Rubinstein Director– Environmental Compliance, Energy, and Sustainability, UHN

Ed Rubinstein is the University Health Network’s Director of Environmental Compliance, Risk and Sustainability. He’s been leading the hospital’s many environment programs since 1999 and has helped UHN become a leader in environmental sustainability in health care.

Both UHN and Ed’s leadership in the field of “greening health care” have been recognized by several awards, including from the Ontario Hospital Association, Canadian College of Health Leaders, Natural Resources Canada, Practice Greenhealth and the Canadian Council of Ministers for the Environment.

Kimberly Wintemute Family Doctor, Assistant Professor, UofT

Kimberly Wintemute (MD) is a Family Doctor and Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto. As a Primary Care Lead of the Choosing Wisely Canada campaign (2015 to present) and former Medical Director of North York Family Health Team (2008-2016), she is active in quality improvement, teaching and fostering inter-professional approaches to care. The concerns woven into her daily work include the impact of low-value care and sustainability, both of our health care system and our planet.

In 2014, she was named Regional Family Physician of the Year by the Ontario College of Family Physicians.

GTA Chapter of Canadian College of Health Leaders (CCHL), Centre for Sustainable Health Systems at IHPME, and Emerging Health Leaders (EHL) Joint Event 

Date: Friday March 26, 2021

Time: 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm Eastern Time

• 11:55 am – 12:00 pm Sign into Zoom link

• 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm Debate & Discussion

REGISTER HERE

Proponents of virtual care have long stressed the many potential benefits it could eventually convey, including improved access/equity, integration of care, and environmental sustainability. The relatively slow adoption of virtual care meant that the full realization of these promises was years away - until recently, when COVID-19 prompted an unprecedented uptick in the use of virtual healthcare technologies across Canada. Yet the associated benefits and long-term viability (and indeed, desirability) of this dramatic transformation are unclear. Have we fast-tracked our way to the type and level of virtual care provision that will allow us to achieve our objectives around patient care, health outcomes, and environmental sustainability, or locked ourselves into an iteration of virtual care that will limit their realization?  Our panelists consider the financial, social, and environmental implications of continuing on, abandoning, or altering the trajectory COVID-19 has put us on with respect to virtual care.

FEATURED SPEAKERS

Ewan Affleck, College of Physicians & Surgeons of Alberta

Ewan Affleck has worked and lived in northern Canada since 1992, were he maintains a part time clinical practice. The past CMIO of the NWT, he is currently serving as the Senior Medical Advisor - Health Informatics, College of Physicians & Surgeons of Alberta, Chair of the Alberta Virtual Care Working Group, chair of the Health Canada Task Team on Equity in Virtual Care and was co-chair of the national Virtual Care Task Force. In 2013, he was appointed to the Order of Canada for his contribution to northern health care.

Bobby Gheorghiu, Senior Manager, Performance Analytics, Canada Health Infoway

Bobby Gheorghiu Bobby has 20 years of experience across the acute care, government and policy sectors of the healthcare system. In his current role with Canada Health Infoway he uses data analytics and the development and monitoring of performance indicators to stimulate adoption and demonstrate tangible benefits of investments in digital health. Bobby holds an MHSc in Health Policy, Management, and Evaluation from the University of Toronto and a BBA from the Schulich School of Business, York University.

Julia Zarb, Academic and Managing Director of CanCOVID and REAL  

Julia Zarb is an Assistant Professor at University of Toronto, and former Program Director of the Master's of Health Informatics (MHI) at the Institute for Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, Dalla Lana School of Public Health at University of Toronto. ​For more than two decades, her work has been focused on safe and rapid digital and AI knowledge communication and mobilization in academic, public and private sectors. ​​After the pandemic declaration, Julia led the Rapid Evidence Access Link (REAL) as a digital COVID-19 response initiative to get evidence into health care decision makers’ hands. This platform serves multiple uses within Ontario’s Ministry of Health. Of 23 years in health information technology strategy and marketing leadership, she has spent 14 in the US arena and 10 years on corporate executive teams in Canada and USA. ​​Her own firm, Zarb Consulting, served dozens of clients in national-scale initiatives, including National health IT Week (HIMSS); National eProvider Patient Safety Initiative (Allscripts); ​Centre for Information Technology Leadership (Harvard & Partners Healthcare); and others. ​​Julia was a co-founder and representative of the Electronic Health Record Vendor Association (HIMSS EHRA). She has served on HIMSS HL7 & IHE Interoperability Collaborative, and HIMSS Katrina Phoenix. ​​Julia holds a PhD in Communications Theory from the University of Toronto and serves on the Board of Regents for Victoria University, University of Toronto.

Moderator: Fiona Miller, Professor at IHPME and Director, Centre for Sustainable Health Systems

Join the Centre for Global Health, DLSPH, and the Centre for Sustainable Health Systems, IHPME for a panel discussion on the links between the environment and public health in the context of COVID-19.

The COVID-19 pandemic has clearly disrupted our economic, social and health systems. But it had also shown us the benefits of reducing our consumption patterns, which if sustained, can have positive effects on the health of our planet. Unlike COVID-19, climate change is not a new global emergency.

During this webinar, the global, political and economic drivers of climate change and environmental degradation will be discussed, alongside the relationship between infectious disease patterns and climate change. The role of different sectors, including the health sector in responding to these crises through environmentally sustainable solutions will also be discussed.

Register here.

Join ELESH and the HSPR Trainee Committee on Environmental Sustainability as we share our recommendations with CIHR-IHSPR and CSHS!

The COVID-19 pandemic has underscored that our health services and systems must transform in order to respond to major crises. Underpinning the pandemic is the disrupted link between humans and the environment, which has a profound impact on health and well-being in Canada and globally. As health services and policy researchers, we have a responsibility to transform health systems to be more equitable, resilient and sustainable. In order to do so, we must critically appraise how sustainability factors into the ways we conduct research, what research we conduct, and what we teach and learn.

This fall, we brought together 10 students from across Canada to join members of the Emerging Leaders for Environmental Sustainability in Healthcare (ELESH) to form the HSPR Trainee Committee on Environmental Sustainability. During the month of October, the committee members considered how environmental sustainability factors into three key areas relating to health services and policy research: curriculum, conduct and content. Using the findings of these sessions we have developed a number of recommendations to be shared with the health services and policy research community.

Join us for our inaugural trainee-led virtual town hall as we share our recommendations with stakeholders from CIHR-IHSPR and the Centre for Sustainable Health Systems. Click here to register!

Experts have long touted the cost and time savings associated with virtual health care, but its potential environmental benefits have received less attention. As a lower-carbon alternative to traditional care delivery, virtual care has a key role to play in mitigating the health sector’s significant contributions to climate change.  Canada Health Infoway estimates that virtual care reduced travel-related carbon (CO2) emissions by 120,000 metric tonnes in 2019 alone, and projects that if the number of primary care virtual visits were to increase to 50 per cent of total visits, it would reduce CO2 emissions by 325,000 metric tonnes annually. Though this scenario once seemed years away, Infoway has documented a sharp increase in virtual care visits as Canada responds to COVID-19, making it more important than ever to consider the many co-benefits of virtual care.

Want to learn more about why virtual care must be harnessed as part of a broad strategy to improve the environmental sustainability of healthcare? Don’t miss this webinar on June 10 from 12-1 p.m. ET, hosted by Canada Health Infoway and the University of Toronto’s Centre for Sustainable Health Systems.

Register Now

Join [The University of Toronto Planetary Health Alliance Campus Ambassadors] on April 22, 2020 at 12pm for a Planetary Health Welcome Webinar! All UofT students, faculty, staff, and alumni are welcome to attend. The webinar will include an introduction to planetary health followed by an open strategy meeting to discuss future directions for planetary health engagement at UofT.

The Zoom link will be sent upon registration.

The climate crisis has been called the greatest threat to human health. If you feel overwhelmed and powerless, you’re not alone. How do we move from deep concern to real action on climate, understanding that the climate crisis is both perpetuated by the health sector and is an existential threat to health?

Attendees can expect to leave with concrete actions they can take to confront the climate crisis and lead the way toward a better, more sustainable world.

Tickets available at: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/system-change-for-health-in-the-climate-crisis-tickets-96364054481

If you cannot join us in person, please feel free to join us online. Register for a webinar ticket to get full call in details emailed.

https://zoom.us/j/624414249

Meeting ID: 624 414 249