Every year, Health Care Without Harm and Practice Greenhealth honor exceptional individuals who have shown leadership in the areas of healthcare sustainability, waste reduction, sustainable food, innovation, and social change. This year’s award winners were honored during CleanMed, an annual healthcare sustainability conference hosted by Health Care Without Harm and Practice Greenhealth, May 7-9 in San Diego.
Environmental Health Hero Award Winner — Kathy Gerwig
As institutions for healing, hospitals have the potential to do more than simply treat patients. They also have the opportunity to heal the planet. In 2018, Health Care Without Harm has chosen to bestow its highest honor, the Environmental Health Hero Award, to Kathy Gerwig, who literally wrote the book on “greening” healthcare to heal the planet.
Gerwig, vice president of employee safety, health & wellness and the environmental stewardship officer for Kaiser Permanente, is responsible for developing, organizing, and managing nationwide environmental initiatives for the not-for-profit health plan/hospital system serving more than 12 million members. Under her leadership, Kaiser Permanente has become widely recognized as an environmental pioneer.
Visionary Leadership Award Winner — Bob Biggio
The Visionary Leader Award recognizes senior-level healthcare executives who are impacting the world with significant contributions to healthcare sustainability through groundbreaking and innovative strategies, and mentorship. This year’s Visionary Leader Award winner is Bob Biggio.
Biggio, Boston Medical Center (BMC) senior vice president of facilities and support services, has been instrumental in driving BMC toward its goal to become 100 percent carbon neutral by 2020. Biggio put environmental stewardship initiatives at the forefront of BMC’s $300 million campus redesign and led the installation of a rooftop garden that harvested 5,000 pounds of vegetables for patient meals and the hospital’s cafeterias, food pantry, and teaching kitchen in 2017.
Charlotte Brody Award Winner — Katie Huffling
Created in honor of a lifelong advocate for social change, the Charlotte Brody Award recognizes nurses who go beyond everyday nursing endeavors to proactively promote and protect environmental health and who generate significant outcomes from their efforts. Health Care Without Harm is pleased to award this year’s Charlotte Brody Award to Katie Huffling, the executive director of the Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments. While practicing full-time as a nurse-midwife, Huffling developed an assessment tool for nurse-midwives and other health professionals to assess for environmental exposures in pregnant women that is being utilized in obstetrical practices across the country.
The Stephanie Davis Waste Reduction and Pollution Prevention Award and scholarship
Winners are named after a pioneer in healthcare waste reduction, and honor individuals for their work in advancing sustainable healthcare.This year’s winners: Zach Burns, Jamie Dwyer, Natasha Wasim, and Laria Pippen.
Health Care Culinary Contest Winner — Northwestern Memorial Hospital
Health Care Without Harm is proud to present the award for its inaugural culinary contest to Northwestern Memorial Hospital for their red dahl recipe. Created by Norbert Bomm, the corporate executive chef for Northwestern, this recipe showed culinary creativity and sustainable food sourcing, exemplifying how hospital food can be healthy for people and the planet.
Climate and Health Innovation Award Winner — Rochester Regional Health
The Climate and Health Innovation Award recognizes a hospital or health system for innovative work addressing the health impacts of climate change. This year’s Climate and Health Innovation Award winner is Rochester Regional Health.
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