Edition 1 | May 28, 2021

Our monthly challenges may include Green Office-suggested changes to reduce our office footprint and also Green Care suggestions with evidence based and easy health care ideas that also help with climate change.

For our first edition, to start us all off, we have challenges in both Green Office and Green Care categories.

You can track your changes, earn your office Green plaque, and learn more using our Green Worksheet.

Did you know that exam bed paper provides no protection against infection transmission?

It is not an infection control maneuver but rather an aesthetic choice. By reducing its exam bed paper use, one practice saved $217 in 2019! According to the WHO guidelines, we should be using infant measuring boards instead of exam bed paper to measure babies.

The Green Team has created signs you can put on your exam beds communicating this change to patients. For more details on how to reduce your exam bed paper use and purchase an infant measuring board, see our ‘how to guide’ here.

Did you know that time in nature has preventative health benefits and can decrease symptoms from a wide range of mental and physical diseases for all ages?

The evidence is solid and even tells us what dose is needed - 2 hours of nature time a week for 20 minutes at a time. Health care professionals can “prescribe nature” by using our EMR embedded nature prescription tool that lists all of the benefits for our patients. For more information, see our ‘how to guide’ here.

Need help with these challenges? The Green Team is here for you! Contact the Green Team and we will be happy to get you started!

"I think the Green Initiative has helped remind me that I am connected to nature, the earth, other people, everything! As a physician, it is easy to only focus on the daily task of caring for my patients. The Green Initiative has shown that change doesn't have to be hard, doesn't have to take too much time, and that we can care about more than just the daily work of caring for patients. We can do even MORE good by also caring about our environment."

- Dr. Emily Ow, Crown Point Lower.