Safety, infection control, efficiency and process standardization are all important goals of perioperative services. Improving the environmental and economic sustainability of the O.R. can be achieved without jeopardizing these goals. Leadership and teamwork are both necessary to create lasting change within an organization,1 but engaging leadership and staff to embrace environmental practices and waste reduction can be a challenge. Each organization is unique in what motivates staff and how this initiative can be approached. A motivational factor for sustainability can be found for every health care provider. Finding the areas important to both leadership and individuals on the front lines and linking these areas to sustainability can drive engagement and investment in sustainability initiatives.
Why should this concern the anesthesiologist? As perioperative managers, we have a unique opportunity to take a leadership role and bring the potential environmental and economic benefits of sustainability initiatives to the attention of hospital...