Publication: Politico

UCLA Expert:  Sarah Brockhaus: Sustainability Programs Manager, UCLA Health

Synopsis: The drive to reimagine anesthesia is part of a broader if belated effort to decarbonize U.S. health care, from the operating room to the cafeteria to the gardens and grounds. It’s a push spurred on by both medical professionals and Washington policymakers, who feel increased pressure to act amid the dangers of climate change and who acknowledge health care has been slow to engage on sustainability.

UCLA News: “It’s been a catalyst,” Brockhaus said of the Department of Health and Human Services’ 2022 Climate Pledge. “It’s a public pledge … we will be held accountable.” There’s also a trickle-down effect in terms of knowledge and experience, she said, for smaller hospitals and those with fewer resources than a place like UCLA. “The work we are doing will be shared.”

A big facility like the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center can’t just shut off all of its operating suites at night and on weekends; it’s a trauma center and a transplant center, and it needs 24/7 readiness. But that doesn’t mean every operating room has to be fully fired up every minute, said Arturo Sanchez, the administrative director of sustainability. UCLA Health is now studying things like “HVAC setbacks” and “equipment shutdown protocols” and learning how other hospitals have powered down some of their operating rooms without sacrificing preparedness.

Read more at Politico.