This is Lauren D with the Becker health
care podcast.
I'm thrilled today to be joined by Doctor
Matthew Meyer, associate professor of,
and c chair of the Uv Health sustainability
community committee at Uv Health as well as
c cofounder of Peri Green. Doctor Meyers, is
a pleasure to have on podcast today.
Thank you for having me and. I'm really
thrilled to be here. Now I know we've
got a lot to talk about, and I'm
really looking forward to learning more about some
of the
sustainability initiatives that you're doing at Uv health
and how other their health systems can get
involved and do some more things as well.
But before we dive into my quest.
You tell us is just just a little
bit more about yourself and your background?
Shit.
So I am
a full time clinical anesthesia interest at this
point. I also work in the intensive care
unit. So that is
predominantly my day job.
However, under the product that really drives most
of my
my passion at this point is I didn't
do a lot of work this sustainable health
care area, and I consider myself to be
an advocate and a researcher. I've had
really good fortune to ask some editorial that
were published in instead news health affairs forefront
scientific America,
American
in this area, which has given me the
opportunity to really
reach out and
that people excited about sustainable health and see
the potential of it.
I am also,
and this isn't... This is actually becoming almost
has much a full time job I'm also,
A founder, Ceo of Peri Cream, which is
a fuck where we're using computer vision to
identify and help. Health systems eliminate unnecessary waste
in the operating room.
Most fascinating to hear and, you know, really
cool to have that abilities of of looking
in and identifying and then being able to
out upon for the unnecessary waste. Now, given
your and enroll. What are some of the
biggest issues that you're following in healthcare right
now?
K. So
she my focus is on sort of 2
sides of sort of the same coin. So
I'm very interested in
in health,
then I'm very interested in sustainable healthcare care.
And I I'm happy to give sort of
the definitions. Because I think sometimes they get
a little them mush together in the healthcare
care system, but it took me a while
of really doing this to realize that they're
really 2 independent issues and really
deserve
independent attention.
To what I'm talking about climate health, I'm
talking about,
I'm talking about the impact of climate changing
and really, you before it gets bumped into
it. Like all sort of pollution and waste
is having on human health.
And
just to support this during the pandemic in
2021.
The there was an editorial that I was
called simultaneously
in 200
different journals including New england Journal on the
Bm, which are, you know, very important and,
very important journals in Medicine.
That said, the greatest threat to global public
health continued failure world leaders to keep the
global temperature rise below 1.5 degrees anyway. And
so
that concept is that
we've you,
collectively as humans contributed to,
we've changed our environment.
That we're changing our environment ways that we
can't necessarily predict and that our be coming
back to Harm us in the way of
health.
And
the thing about that statement was it was
saying keep it below 1.5 degrees centigrade. We're
and arguably in the last 12 months,
we're above 1.5 degrees centigrade grade, If you
aggregate the weather in the temperature. From throughout
the world. So we may have already crust
that, and we haven't really organized
ourselves in a way that's going to, you
know, bring us back
And as a consequence of all this, there
going to be implications on Human Health and
quite honestly, there already are implications on Human
L.
And based implications and
they're broad. They go from some of the
more obvious ones, which is like a longer
allergies.
Season
to other respiratory concerns. We all have many
of us had exposure to the wildfires in
Canada
that brought the air quality index really high,
you know, far away from. I mean I'm
in Virginia, we had days where we were
we should really exert sides outside and camps
camps with canceled that summer. So the the
more obvious ones to less obvious ones which
are that
when there's large scale weather events,
patients can't get their cancer treatments have health
systems.
And everywhere in between... There's essentially no organ
system and that includes mental health that's not
being affected
by
solution and
the impact of us on our environment. So
that's climate health.
That's 1 only thing that I'm really paying
attention to because I think that there are
some institutions out there. There are some health
systems that are really starting to pay attention
to it. And in my opinion, that's a
marker of
basically quality. It shows that this institution is
looking to the future. And you're able, they've
manage they manage today's problems long enough that
they're able to look into the future and
try to figure out how to get themselves
to be the right provider community health for
the future. Which I think is just yeah.
That's that's top
top level strategy it from executive perspective.
And the second bid is sustainable healthcare, which
is honestly where the company that I started
and where I tend to find myself a
little more at hold. And this is really
what I love.
Sustainable health care is, how do we take
the health system that we have the U.
S. Keeping you in mind that that 17
percent 18 percent of U. S Gdp
or about 4 percent to 5 percent of
global Gdp
is the healthcare So this is a huge
amount of resources when you think about the
whole world that large. And how do we
take that and I we used them better
noise efficiently? How do we eliminate waste? How
do we make our health system not
contribute to pollution or climate changing mission
and I find that to be fascinating anything,
and that's that's where a lot of my
thought goes today. So I'm
very excited about both those concepts.
Less fascinating here and certainly, you know, really
interesting to go down that road and understand
how different climate change issues are affecting not
only people's health, but their ability to access
health care and what that means for us
in the future.
Now when you look ahead, you know, what
are you excited about and what makes you
nervous?
I mean, so
no I'm gonna I'm gonna bring it back
to those topics. So I am very excited
about
the sustainable health care movement. I... Think I
think since I sort of got myself involved
in it the past 5 or 10 years.
I've seen it go from, you know, like,
a bunch of people are really trying and
saying and
organizing to the best their ability, what I
would consider to be a relatively
strong,
you know, wealth organized
and growing
mission. Until I'll play a couple things. So
the first we can't talk about this in
this world without mentioning 2 organizations, which is
healthcare without harm and practice health. Those are
related organizations and they've really
didn't
they've been ringing the bell for a while
saying that there's problems in our environment that
our Human health? And then how can we
take health systems whose mission is that take
care of community health and ensure that
the systems the way in which healthcare care
is delivered
doesn't
worsening
the problems that cause humans to be sick
and pollution pollution remission etcetera. So
that organization practice free health
represents or has members of 14 100 hospitals
and health systems in the U. S and
Canada. So I think that in and of
itself
demonstrates genuine
buy in
with organizations.
There was also a petition that was signed
by about a thousand
possible. I think representing about 1000 hospitals by
the department of health and human services
that was
to really engage with cc car hospital organization
of the healthcare care system,
and that was signed. Nationally it was a
white house event. We're seeing the national adding
medicine
really focus in on how do we d
card medicine. And then just recently,
we've had this... The joint commission has created
a sustainable health their certification. And this I
think is really cool. This is
the
essentially the certification
structures it so that you
test yourself and organize your health system with
the building blocks to really drive sustainability
inside. It will accept leadership, it looks at
data collection and it looks at action. But
really I'm really impressed with the fact that
we're
that the joint commission has gotten into this
field. And,
I'm hoping that their involvement will only increase
from there. They've got great leadership. Think there's
a lot of potential for them
to really
help helps us become more efficient through sustainability
and helps
provide better value patient care through sustainability.
And I I remiss I don't mention that
someone I was hoping that you get health
with death but someone has gotten to get
the first certificate and it was hack secondary
meridian and health. So just real recognition to
them for b being, becoming real leaders in
this field of sustainable healthcare care. And they
were the first ones to achieve joint commission
sustainable healthcare care certification for other their hospitals,
Well, that's amazing to hear and definitely,
what a great goal to work towards. And
for you at Uv Health,
how does that sustainability show up? And especially,
I know quote the community committee,
you know, it is 1 way that you
could contribute in a big way, but
what types of things are you doing or
changes have you been able to make since
getting involved with these types of initiatives?
Sure. So
as everyone listening to this healthcare has been
for a lot the last couple of years.
But my real hope is we're coming out
stronger lessons learned from Covid and we're going
we're ready to,
walk and chew bubble them and like really
move forward on this. So
what we're doing. So,
you tax sustainable sustainable health and all fronts.
First is largely organization, You know, finding the
people that are interested in. And I will
tell you that the minute you start talking
about this as you might gather, I talk
about this a fair bit to to many
get to hold listen. And and I find
that the many you start talking about waste
reduction efficiency getting it little solution.
You have hands raised all over the place.
This is stuff that is very
connected to people and a mission driven world
like health.
So first of all, it's finding the people
that are interested this and building your network
building your lives,
my next goal has been to do when
I can to empower those people to motivate
them To allow them to see that that
their wishes are their desires, their goals their
project mix to reduce plastic waste to recycle
more
coffers to
whatever it is the not bone. And here's
the network that we've developed to help you
accelerate each projects. So we organize, we, you
know, find those people and then we help
them accelerate the projects.
We have directly done something things. You know,
my department was fairly early I'm not the
early. But we got rid of pretty much
all of our does flooring. That's the volatile
aesthetics, bad has a real outs outside impact
as a create greenhouse gas. It also happens
being more costly, so it's 1 of those
beautiful moments, which you find time time again,
where sustainability alliance with cost effectiveness.
So we got rid of that foreign. We're,
teaching a and talking about reducing the flows
of the operations in anesthesiologist. So that's that
that's where I have real domain.
And we are also working across the healthcare
care system. You, we're working we're working on
talking about energy efficiency. There's actually great resources
out there crew tremendous resources. And when I'm
about resources, I'm not just talking about, like,
you know, a Pamphlet here Pdf there. I'm
talking about, know, millions of dollars
for
energy efficiency projects
and,
my Grow grids to build into your healthcare
system that's being funded through the inflation reduction
Act. And
the
health and human services through the office for
climate change health equity has actually put out
a cat program on utilizing the Irs. So
it's basically a starter project for you to
figure out how your health system hospital can
access
millions of dollars. I mean, in some looks
like billions or tens of billions of dollars
that are available for these projects.
So
we go every we go everywhere We're working
on it. We're working on making sure recycling
rolled out and not only rolled out the
materials we collect get recycled.
All the ways to trying to figure out
how we can fund our renewable energy projects,
energy storage and and the like to make
our help systems more resilient, you know, in
the face of the changing world.
I love that. That is so helpful to
know and understand just some of the... Little
things that you can do that to make
a big difference. Now before we wrap up
here, I'm wondering, could you talk about what
the most effective health leaders will need in
order to be successful in the next 2
to 3 years or so.
Sure. So
what I want is I want people to
craft on to this concept of Sustainable healthcare
care. And I want people to make it
theirs. Like, I I'm am, you know, I
I'm an advocate for this. And we've talked
largely about what it means from an environmental
perspective. But sustainable health care is really a
beautiful beautiful concept here. Right? And I want
people to make it theirs make it broadly.
I want us to have a healthcare system
that clinicians wanna work at. I want it
to be place where patients feel good where
we know that this hospital that's been a
part of our community is going to be
here for
the next decade, the next generation of people.
I want us to know that we're using
our resources
intentionally and for maximum impact. There should be
no on that necessary ways. That's a passion
of mine I created a company around, you
know, the identification of this, like, unnecessary ways.
We have so much of it in health
in in healthcare care.
We need to focus on health
instead of medicine.
And,
honestly, like, My livelihood is from you know,
being an anesthesiologist.
But if I put myself out of a
job, if I can get everybody so healthy
so that they don't need my work, like,
what more for a life's mission, but we
need to really think about health.
Want I want this concept of sustainability way
to be elevated.
And when I say El, I mean put
it in the C suite, like, we need
people who are making the decisions to be
having this as part of the conversation at
the table. It doesn't need to be the
only part, but it needs to be a
part and we need to think about how
the concept of sustainability will help address
and will help a lot. Address a number
of the pressing crises that we're all dealing
with. And again, let me... Just give a
shortlist list. We're talking about, you know, staff
shortages in burnout out.
People are inspired to work
when hospitals align with their epics.
Low value cost healthcare against sustainability efficiency moving
waste. Like this is stuff that that brings
up,
improves our productivity,
the it gets to managing social determines of
health. There's the the impact of the environment
on people's health. On
barely
impacts those people who have the few resources.
And that's something that we see time and
time again whether it's in our country and
other countries and locally and you know, in
other places like,
we need we need to, you know, think
about how the people who are being impacted
the most, you know, how we can help
them out.
And then we also get the plans for
the future
and
really think about community health problems that are
forthcoming. And
planning around them, we can hope to am
that into something degree. And so I'm talking
about bringing this into the C suite. And
there's a couple of health systems out there
that have have some sort of a Chief
sustainability officer, and I'll tell you that these
people are doing amazing things under that. But
they haven't been they have been granted that's
soul title. We have, it's usually a blended
title of sustainability plus some other aspect.
When sustainability is the so focus the the
leader in the institution tends to be more
at the Vp level. And I will tell
you that I I know so of the
people that are sitting in the Vp level
at in of is hospitals.
And
the health system that they can elevate them
into the Cc will will be wow by
their ability to just, you know, like the
world, that's probably of about how good the
world fire was definitely the wrong analogy for
my conversation right now. But just to really,
like,
just
they're just going to do so well. They're
primed.
Largely these people are already doing that role.
They've just been
in off. That are are sort of independent,
not terribly well resources and yet these people
are succeeding. And so what I encourage people
to do is, you know, think about what
sustainability means to you for your healthcare system.
Make sure that you improve the impact on
the world because that's a large part of
it. Do not get healthy people from unhealthy
environments.
But think about what a achieves sustainability officer
is
find that person in your organization fix that
and put them into a position power motivate
them and to see what happens. I expect
great things,
and that's that's that I think is gonna
happen the next couple of years or at
least what I'm really looking for to see
happen.
That's amazing to hear and and definitely
I so appreciate that focus and drive and
energy around the sustainability of bringing that into
the C suite to.
Is so important. For the future. Doctor Meyer,
thank you so much for joining us on
the podcast today. This has been such a
fascinating discussion, and I look forward to connecting
with you again soon.
For Well, thank you so much for having
me. I really appreciate your audience for listening.
And I'm at Uv health available if anyone
has any questions or we'll reach out to
talk. Always happy to help more. Thank you.