Past, present, and future of sustainable intensive care: narrative review and a large hospital system experience.

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  • Additional Information
    • Source:
      Publisher: BioMed Central Ltd Country of Publication: England NLM ID: 9801902 Publication Model: Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1466-609X (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 13648535 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Crit Care Subsets: MEDLINE
    • Publication Information:
      Publication: London, UK : BioMed Central Ltd
      Original Publication: London : Current Science Ltd, c1997-
    • Subject Terms:
      Intensive Care Units*/organization & administration ; Intensive Care Units*/trends; Humans ; Critical Care/methods ; Critical Care/trends ; Sustainable Development/trends ; Carbon Footprint ; Hospitals/trends ; Hospitals/standards ; Texas
    • Abstract:
      Healthcare systems are large contributors to global emissions, and intensive care units (ICUs) are a complex and resource-intensive component of these systems. Recent global movements in sustainability initiatives, led mostly by Europe and Oceania, have tried to mitigate ICUs' notable environmental impact with varying success. However, there exists a significant gap in the U.S. knowledge and published literature related to sustainability in the ICU. After a narrative review of the literature and related industry standards, we share our experience with a Green ICU initiative at a large hospital system in Texas. Our process has led to a 3-step pathway to inform similar initiatives for sustainable (green) critical care. This pathway involves (1) establishing a baseline by quantifying the status quo carbon footprint of the affected ICU as well as the cumulative footprint of all the ICUs in the healthcare system; (2) forming alliances and partnerships to target each major source of these pollutants and implement specific intervention programs that reduce the ICU-related greenhouse gas emissions and solid waste; and (3) finally to implement a systemwide Green ICU which requires the creation of multiple parallel pathways that marshal the resources at the grass-roots level to engage the ICU staff and institutionalize a mindset that recognizes and respects the impact of ICU functions on our environment. It is expected that such a systems-based multi-stakeholder approach would pave the way for improved sustainability in critical care.
      (© 2024. The Author(s).)
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    • Contributed Indexing:
      Keywords: Critical care; Environmental policy; Environmentalism
    • Publication Date:
      Date Created: 20240509 Date Completed: 20240510 Latest Revision: 20240515
    • Publication Date:
      20240516
    • Accession Number:
      PMC11080308
    • Accession Number:
      10.1186/s13054-024-04937-9
    • Accession Number:
      38725060