Environmental Healthcare : Reducing Cost and Waste While Helping the Environment
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Environmental Healthcare : Reducing Cost and Waste While Helping the Environment
Have you ever thrown food away ? The answer is most likely yes . And do you know what happens to it ? Each year more than 90 percent of food scraps in United Stated are sent to landfills . Food production in America requires substantial costs , as well as significant human and natural resources . Fifty percent of the nation ’ s land resources , 80 percent of U . S . freshwater consumption and 10 percent of the nation ’ s energy budget is dedicated to the production and distribution of food . Astonishingly , up to 40 percent of all food ends up in landfills , with a value of $ 165 billion each year . Food waste is the single largest component of U . S . municipal waste and accounts for almost 25 percent of methane gas emissions in the United States .
Healthcare providers are faced with tighter budgets while still needing to provide high levels of care to its residents . Reevaluating the handling of food waste may be worth considering . In 2015 , the Environmental Protection Agency ( EPA ) announced the first-ever national food loss and waste goal for the United States , calling for a 50 percent reduction by 2030 . The United States Department of Agriculture ( USDA ) and EPA will work together with businesses across the non-profit and private sector and local and state governments to reduce food and organic waste loss , improve food security and conserve our nation ’ s natural resources . Improvements to food waste processing and recovery methods are under exploration as well as plans to build supportive infrastructures for the development of new products and energy resources from waste .
Statistics reveal that Americans are living longer as baby boomers , those born between 1946 and 1964 , retire from the workforce . New York State mirrors the national aging trend with recent studies indicating that the number of individuals aged 65 and older in the state will grow from approximately 2.6 million in 2010 to 3.6 million in 2040 , a nearly 40 percent increase . During this period the 85 and older population is also expected to increase by 48 percent . There are several implications of this changing demographic especially the need for healthcare services , assisted and congregate living facilities , which has and will continue to increase for the foreseeable future .
At the cornerstone of health , wellness and longevity is food and nutrition . Food and nutrition are an essential and ongoing cost for residential and assisted living facilities , healthcare , senior housing and aging in place programs . Following medical supplies and services and water consumption , food and its associated services is a costly line item and significant percentage of a facility ’ s budget . Similar to medical services , the quality and cost of food and nutrition is closely monitored , continuously reviewed and modified to provide optimal nutritional support for clients . As this age demographic grows , facilities will increasingly be faced with the challenge of identifying cost effective methods of managing food and nutrition as well as adopting sustainable practices to manage food and organic waste .
Healthcare facilities are an energy intense facility type across the nation . The demand and necessity to provide premium comprehensive services overall at an affordable cost is challenging . Maintaining sustainable business practices at every level i . e ., design , construction , operation , maintenance , client care and services will be essential to business viability . National averages show that hospitals and long term care facilities produce nearly three pounds of food waste per patient per day . In the case of medium to large facilities the volume of food waste generated can equate to several tons each week . In order to engage in cost effective , sustainable
39 Adviser a publication of LeadingAge New York | Fall 2016
( See Environmental Healthcare on page 40 )