CLIMATE RESILIENCE: New York City Health + Hospitals has cut its carbon emissions related to anesthesia products in half due to changes in operating room practices that halt leakage of harmful gases, the health system said Wednesday. Four public hospitals – Bellevue, Elmhurst, Jacobi and North Central Bronx – stopped using a centralized pipe system to distribute carbon dioxide equivalents for surgeries, a practice that allows toxic gases to escape into the air and contributes to the bulk of emissions. These changes, along with reduced delivery of anesthetic gases, resulted in 5,000 fewer metric tons of carbon dioxide since 2022 – equivalent to taking 1,100 gas-powered cars off the road, according to H+H. The achievement is a part of the public hospital system’s climate resilience plan that aims to cut total carbon emissions by 50% before 2030.
MAMMOGRAM EQUIPMENT: Stony Brook University Hospital on Long Island filed plans with the state this week to buy new equipment to provide mammograms at its ambulatory care pavilion. The state-run hospital filed a certificate-of-need application with state health officials to purchase a mammography machine and cover installation costs. The total cost of the project will exceed $700,000, according to the filing.
