As Lisa wrote last week, “nurses are a pretty amazing group of people, wouldn’t you say?”  And yesterday Lisa and I had an opportunity to speak to Nurses at an event organized by the Ontario Nurses for the Environment Interest Group (ONEIG).  And while we had lots of nice slides with good information and pretty pictures, the message was simple: Nurses play a key role in the greening of UHN and healthcare.

Nurses are on the front line of healthcare…they see the effect of the environment on human health and, at the same time, the massive amounts of supplies, energy and stuff needed to deliver healthcare.  And with almost 25% of UHN staff being Nurses, it puts them in a perfect position to see the greening opportunities that Energy & Environment wouldn’t even know existed.  They help us identify the issues and, once we’ve had a chance to mull it over, lead in implementing the solutions.

Nurses are smart, dedicated, passionate and caring…if Nurses don’t lead the greening of healthcare…who will?