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Healthcare Sustainability Champions

Jaclyn Wu, MD

Resident Physician
General Surgery
Stanford Medicine

Project

Reducing the Carbon Footprint of the Operating Room through Waste Reduction

Project Description

The healthcare industry produces 8.5% of our nation’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions; if US healthcare was an independent country, it would be 13th in the world in terms of its emissions. One major source of greenhouse gas emissions is the clinical supply chain. Surgical medical instruments, devices and supplies comprised 17% of the Stanford Health Care Main Campus carbon footprint in 2021. Waste avoidance measures are readily available actions that directly reduce the carbon footprint of the clinical supply chain while lowering the cost of care. This team will focus on improving the materials management of the physical supplies that are used (and discarded) during a routine exam, reducing the carbon footprint of surgical care by avoiding use of unnecessary materials.

Impact

The team aims to reduce the supply count for a routine general surgery exam from 12 to 6 items. They will establish this pilot as an example to be expanded to other procedures to further decrease the environmental impact of procedures in the OR.

Collaborators

Paige Fox, MD, PhD
Associate Professor of Surgery
Division of Plastic Surgery,
Stanford University School of Medicine

Achievements &
Affiliations

Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee, Resident Council Member

The Medical Society Consortium on Climate & Health, Policy Fellow
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Reducing the Carbon Footprint of the
Operating Room through Waste Reduction

Jaclyn Wu, MD

Reducing the Carbon Footprint of the
Operating Room through Waste Reduction

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SustainabilityProgramOffice@stanfordhealthcare.org