Health & Wellness

How IH is addressing health care's impact on the environment

Interior Health's Environmental Sustainability team leads project planning, stewardship and resilience to future climate change. From L to R: Christine Henderson, Amanda McKenzie, Mehrnaz Makuei, Ozora Amin-Lee.

Have you ever wondered what happens behind the scenes to make our facilities and health-care services more environmentally sustainable?

Our Environmental Sustainability, Population & Public Health, and Energy Management teams are setting the course—but they’re not embarking on this work alone.

Departments across Interior Health (IH) are working together to make our health-care system more sustainable. Get to know a few of the IH teams that are leading the way—including Laboratory Services, Pharmacy Services and the Simulation Team— in making health-care delivery more eco-friendly.

“It's so exciting to be part of the dynamic Environmental Sustainability team at IH,” says Dr. Ilona Hale, medical director of Climate Change and Sustainability. “Seeing IH’s Climate Change and Sustainability Roadmap come to life through the efforts of so many passionate, caring, dedicated IH staff is inspiring. No matter what your role or position, you can embed sustainability into your work and really make a difference—for our patients and our planet, for today and for the future.”

An environmentally sustainable health-care system is one that reduces greenhouse gas emissions and negative environmental impacts, strengthens our ability to adapt to and mitigate climate change impacts, and supports local and Indigenous communities to adapt to and mitigate climate change impacts.

-- From the Climate Change and Sustainability Roadmap 2023–2028

The people and projects of the 2024 CCAR

Every year, we document our progress in delivering environmentally sustainable and climate-resilient health care in B.C. in the Climate Change Accountability Report (CCAR). This year’s report highlights the many dedicated staff leading programs and projects to reduce our greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and prepare for a changing climate.

Here are a few of the people, teams and projects featured in this year’s CCAR:

Energy Management – Find out how energy conservation measures, retrofits and switching to clean energy sources have helped reduce GHG emissions from our buildings by 15 per cent per square metre since 2010.

Laboratory Services – Discover how the newly launched Environmental Sustainability Lab Focus Group is implementing innovative and eco-friendly practice changes, such as phasing out automatic printing of lab reports and optimizing lab equipment energy use. The Kootenay Lake Hospital Lab team was recognized by the Canadian Association of Pathologists for their efforts with the 2024–2025 Green Lab Award.

A person with long grey-blonde hair with bangs wearing a jean jacket stands in front of a country lane with trees and a fence.
Karen Ranger, lab quality coordinator, has been instrumental in leading lab sustainability initiatives as the Environmental Sustainability Lab Focus Group chair.

Climate Resilience – IH has developed a structured framework and methodology aligned with government policies to identify future climate impacts on health-care facilities and incorporate climate resilience measures in the design of new and renovated sites. IH’s climate resilience coordinator, Mehrnaz Makuei, collaborates with our Capital Planning and Projects teams to design our facilities so they are climate-ready.

Simulation Program – This team focuses on delivering safe, high-quality clinical simulations across the region to educate and train IH staff and physicians. They are extending the life of expired supplies and equipment to give health-care providers the chance to practice real-life scenarios during simulation education. To date, they have extended the life of more than $10,000 worth of equipment for teaching purposes.

Three people wearing blue medical gloves stand in a hospital room with a simulated patient on a guerney.
Clinicians train in a simulation exercise at Kelowna General Hospital.

Preparing our Communities – Read more about how we are increasing the climate readiness and resilience of communities in the Interior. We’re focusing on seasonal preparedness and response, and understanding and assessing the health impacts of climate hazards such as extreme heat, cold weather, flooding, wildfires and drought. IH has dedicated staff actively working on community-level climate resilience work.

A smiling person with long dark hair wearing a white jacket and black shirt stands under a tree in a park.
Carolina Arana is a climate readiness and resilience coordinator at IH (a term position funded through Pacific Public Health Foundation). Carolina led the development of IH's Cold Response Plan to help protect vulnerable clients and facilities to prepare for cold weather events.

Pharmacy Services – Learn about the key areas the pharmacy team is investigating to reduce the environmental impact of pharmacy practices, and how they are collaborating with the Metered Dose Inhaler Pilot Project team to reduce GHG emissions associated with inhalers.

“We are proud of the continued progress we have made in addressing climate change and sustainability at IH,” says Lorne Sisley, VP, Infrastructure & Support Services. “This reflects the dedication and commitment of IH’s staff and leaders to embed sustainability in all that we do.”

Like all of British Columbia’s public sector organizations, IH is required by legislation to submit a CCAR. The report provides a comprehensive overview of our actions to reduce and meet provincial GHG emissions targets associated with stationary emissions (buildings), mobile sources (fleet vehicles) and paper. 

IH’s GHG targets and sustainability priorities are also aligned with the Government of B.C.’s Clean BC Roadmap to 2030 and the Climate Preparedness and Adaptation Strategy.

Read the 2024 Climate Change Accountability Report

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