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August 30, 2024
News & Updates
This month, we are highlighting the behind-the-scenes support from the MCW Facilities and Operations team! Our colleagues who oversee maintenance, electricity, plumbing, waste, and landscaping were important partners in the success of the following three initiatives on MCW’s Milwaukee campus this summer:
MCW Food Services Initiate Composting Program
MCW joined forces with Compost Crusader to divert compostable food scraps from area landfills to a sustainable solution of creating nutrient-rich soil. Both the Hub Café and MCW Cafeteria have agreed to participate in this program, sending waste like coffee grounds, fruit and vegetable peels, and eggshells to the compost pile. Since June 10, MCW food preparers have diverted nearly 1,500 pounds of food, equivalent to offsetting over 60 gallons of gasoline use. Learn more on Infoscope.
MCW's collection bin for diverting compostable waste from landfill to farm.
Say Hello to Children’s Research Institute’s New Water Bottle Filling Station
In response to continued requests for filtered water bottle filling stations on campus, MCW Facilities installed the newest fountain on the 2nd floor of Children’s Research Institute on Aug. 27. Water bottle filling stations support our campus’s use of reusable bottles, thereby reducing the consumption of single-use plastics that have the potential to pollute the environment and in turn negatively impact human health. Each time you fill your reusable bottle, you're taking a step towards a greener future by reducing plastic waste and your carbon footprint!
CRI Lab Operations Manager, Nick Kampa, and SHE Center Director, Christa Wagner, check out the newly installed water bottle filling station.
Student Reflections on MCW's First Community Garden : A Source of Nourishment, Inspiration, and Education
This summer, more than 15 MCW learners helped plant and maintain the institution’s first campus community garden in the Hub quad. Student gardener Kristen Apolinario reflected on her experience tending to the fresh produce. “It has grown into a living, breathing space that nurtures both mind and body. Through the small yet significant act of cultivating our own produce, we’re promoting healthier eating, fostering a sense of shared responsibility for our environment, and strengthening the bonds within our campus community.” Read more of Kristen’s reflections on Infoscope.
Kristen Apolinario is a second-year medical student from Madison, WI. She is passionate about improving quality of life through the intersection of medicine, healthy food, technology, and community.
MPS Green & Healthy Schools Conference
Several MCW research faculty, staff, and students attended the annual 8th annual Green & Healthy Schools Conference, led by nonprofit Reflo. This event plays a crucial role in connecting educators, climate health advocates, and empowering youth around a unified mission of creating greener, healthier schoolyards and community spaces in and around Milwaukee. The related greening efforts of MCW’s research team led by Dr. Kirsten Beyer in partnership with Reflo were also highlighted in an Urban Milwaukee story on Aug. 19: Milwaukee’s Green Schoolyards Gain National Attention » Urban Milwaukee.
MCW staff, student, and faculty participants at the Green & Healthy Schools Conference.
New Froedtert Thedacare Clinic Installs Geothermal Energy System
MCW affiliate Froedtert ThedaCare Health, Inc. is building a new hospital campus in Fond du Lac, WI, which will include a sustainable geothermal energy system for efficient heating and cooling. The geothermal technology will utilize constant temperatures from 500 ft. below the ground surface to moderate building temperatures while helping to reduce carbon emissions. This is the first use of geothermal energy in the Froedtert Thedacare system, but is increasingly used to power energy-intensive university and hospital campuses around the country. The new facility is expected to be completed in 2025. Read more about the project and the technology here.
Upcoming Events
Environmental Justice and Health Disparities Symposium, Sept. 11 – 14 – This hybrid event will gather thought leaders, activists, and community members dedicated to environmental justice and health equity. This year's theme is, “Past, Present, Future: 10 Years of Honoring the Past by Protecting the Future.”
Climate Week NYC, Sept. 22 – 29 – stay tuned to SHE Center social media for sessions related to academic medicine!
What We're Reading
Medical Schools Are Updating Their Curricula as Climate Change Becomes Impossible to Ignore | JAMA
Reed Omary, MD, MS, Professor of Radiology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center shares 10 Lessons From My Climate Sabbatical – The Green leap (wordpress.com)
National policies to accelerate climate action in US healthcare | Nature Climate Change
Home Energy Rebate Opportunities in Wisconsin: IRA Home Energy Rebates | Focus on Energy
Funding Opportunities
Deadline November 21, 2024: Environmental Protection Agency Community Change Grant: Approximately $2 billion dollars in Inflation Reduction Act funds is available to support environmental and climate justice activities to benefit disadvantaged communities through projects that reduce pollution, increase community climate resilience, and build community capacity to address environmental and climate justice challenges. Learn more.
Resources & More
MCW is a member of several consortia and membership organizations with different resources to support engagement in climate action in academic medicine. Contact us for any assistance in signing up!
Global Consortium for Climate and Health Education (GCCHE) aims to unite health professional training institutions, health societies, and regional health organizations to create a global climate-ready health sector, prepared to mobilize and lead health promotion and response in the era of climate change, while restoring the health of the planet. Learn more and join here.
Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) Climate Action Virtual Community provides meaningful connection to the myriad people in academic medical centers working across mission areas to address the climate crisis and improve institutional resiliency. Request an account using your MCW email address here. Once your account has been approved, click here to join the Climate Action and Sustainability group.
Practice Greenhealth is the health care sector’s go-to source for information, tools, data, resources, and expert technical support on sustainability initiatives that help hospitals and health systems meet their health, financial, and community goals. Learn more.
Interested in learning more about the SHE Center at an upcoming MCW departmental, institute, or center faculty and/or staff meeting? Email Dr. Wagner to schedule.
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