CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Reflecting the health system’s pledge to lead on environmental sustainability, Advocate Health has been named a “2023 Health Care Climate Action Winner” by Health Care Without Harm, an internationally recognized leader in the global movement for environmental health and justice.
The award follows the enterprise’s efforts to combat climate change by making its buildings greener, using renewable energy via on-site solar, eliminating desflurane use in anesthesia gases and more.
“We pledged to be more sustainable because the health of our communities is tied so closely to the environmental conditions where we live,” said Al Manshum, Advocate Health’s senior vice president of support services. “Thank you to all of our teammates whose efforts make Advocate Health a greener place to work.”
The health system has pledged to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030 and strive for net zero carbon by 2035. Reinforced through the White House’s and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Health Care Sector Climate Pledge, this commitment underscores its resolution to make sweeping health and equity improvements across the communities it serves.
“Helping people live fully means helping ensure they have clean air to breathe and a sustainable future for their children,” said Dr. David Callaway, chief of crisis operations and sustainability for Advocate Health. “We’re proud of this recognition, which highlights our unwavering commitment to addressing climate change.”
Learn more about the Health Care Without Harm awards here.
The latest recognition builds on the health system’s track record of sustainability work. In Advocate Health’s Midwest region, 24 hospitals were awarded multiple environmental sustainability awards from Practice Greenhealth, the nation’s leading organization dedicated to sustainability in health care. In its Southeast region, the Environmental Protection Agency recognized its energy efficiency programs and 26 Energy Star certified buildings.
A second campus of Wake Forest University School of Medicine, the academic core of Advocate Health, is currently under construction in a new innovation district in Charlotte. It is being built to a carbon-zero and LEED Gold standard, while also achieving a WELL Building Standard. It is believed this will be the nation’s first net-zero carbon medical school when it seats its first class in 2025.
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About Advocate Health
Advocate Health is the third-largest nonprofit integrated health system in the United States – created from the combination of Advocate Aurora Health and Atrium Health. Providing care under the names Advocate Health Care in Illinois, Atrium Health in the Carolinas, Georgia and Alabama, and Aurora Health Care in Wisconsin, Advocate Health is a national leader in clinical innovation, health outcomes, consumer experience and value-based care, with Wake Forest University School of Medicine serving as the academic core of the enterprise. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, Advocate Health serves nearly 6 million patients and is engaged in hundreds of clinical trials and research studies. It is nationally recognized for its expertise in cardiology, neurosciences, oncology, pediatrics and rehabilitation, as well as organ transplants, burn treatments and specialized musculoskeletal programs. Advocate Health employs nearly 155,000 team members across 68 hospitals and over 1,000 care locations and offers one of the nation’s largest graduate medical education programs with over 2,000 residents and fellows across more than 200 programs. Committed to equitable care for all, Advocate Health provides nearly $6 billion in annual community benefits.