About this episode

The episode discusses the environmental impact of surgery and explores sustainable practices in the operating room with expert guests.

If the global healthcare sector were a country, it would be the fifth-worst greenhouse gas emitter on the planet! Within hospitals, the operating room generates a staggering one-third of that entire carbon footprint. In this episode, Dr. Sharon Stein sits down with Dr. Patricia Sylla (System Chief of Colon and Rectal Surgery at Mount Sinai Health System) and Dr. Shaneeta Johnson (Chair of Surgery at Meharry Medical College School of Global Health). Together, they discuss the massive environmental toll of the OR, from volatile anesthetics to single-use plastics, and map out a collaborative blueprint for a more sustainable future. In This Episode, They Discuss: Climate, Access, and Disparities : Dr. Johnson shares her experience providing medical aid in the Bahamas after Hurricane Dorian, illustrating how climate change causes extreme weather which directly disrupts healthcare access, particularly for vulnerable communities. The Surgical Carbon Footprint: Dr. Sylla details why waste is only one small piece of the problem. True environmental impact spans energy expenditure, water usage, and the relentless stream of single-use materials hitting landfills. The Threat of Volatile…

People in this episode

Host: Sharon L. Stein

Guests: Dr. Shaneeta Johnson, Dr. Patricia Sylla

Topics covered

• environmental impact of surgery
• sustainability in healthcare
• carbon footprint of operating rooms
• volatile anesthetics
• single-use plastics
• healthcare access and climate change

Keywords

• greenhouse gas emissions
• operating room waste
• surgical carbon footprint
• healthcare sustainability
• climate change
• anesthetic gases
• single-use materials

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Mount Sinai Health System, Meharry Medical College School of Global Health

Places: Bahamas

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