Front-Line Worker Engagement: Greening Health Care, Improving Worker and Patient Health, and Building Better Jobs

Abstract

Frontline workers have a great deal to contribute to improving environmental sustainability of their employers and the health of workers and patients. This article discusses a national project of the Healthcare Career Advancement Program, funded by the U.S. Department of Labor to support green jobs development. Implementation was accomplished through a labor/management collaboration between union locals and 11 employers in four regions throughout the United States. The project developed and implemented a model of training and education for environmental service workers and other frontline health-care workers in hospital settings that supported systems change and built new roles for these workers. It empowered them to contribute to triple bottom line outcomes in support of People (patients, workers, the community), Planet (environmental sustainability and a lower carbon footprint), and Profit (cost savings for the institutions). In the process workers more clearly articulated their important role as a part of the healthcare team and learned how they could contribute to improved patient and worker health and safety.

Greening healthcare: systematic implementation of environmental programmes in a university teaching hospital

“…Energy or waste management measures suggested, regarded as normal in other organisations, may have a detrimental effect on patient safety in healthcare. Engaging frontline health workers empowers them as they have much to contribute to improving environmental sustainability (Chenven and Copeland, 2013). McGain et al (2012) described a life cycle assessment of reusable and single use catheter insertion kit, concluding that method of energy generation significantly altered the environmental impact of these items.…”

Creating the Nurses’ Environmental Awareness Tool (NEAT)

“…Engagement in the workplace to improve environmental health is important (Chenven & Copeland, 2013; Dunphy, 2013). Supporting staff to decrease the environmental impacts of their work, and decrease environmental exposures with the potential to impact their health, may provide new opportunities for job satisfaction and self-efficacy.…”

Role of Health Professionals Regarding the Impact of Climate Change on Health—An Exploratory Review

“…One training and education intervention targeted hospital workers (housekeeping and food departments) and indicated improvements in the use of cleaning chemicals and waste disposal [ 27 ]. A pilot study indicated the feasibility and high adherence to an adult education program about energy use and sustainability, combined with mindfulness meditation [ 28 ].…”