Reducing Our Carbon Footprint

Green Initiative at Jewish Home Lifecare

It’s on the news, discussed on talk shows and forums, Al Gore received a Nobel Prize for his work with it and it’s the focus of a system-wide initiative at Jewish Home Lifecare. “It” is environmental responsibility and sustainability.

What is going green?

It’s our responsibility to do our part individually and collectively as an organization to try and reduce the carbon footprints we leave on the earth. Global warming is a man-made issue that is speeding up normal environmental cycles and to which animal and plant life will not be able to adapt.

How did this idea take root at Jewish Home?

Sarah Neuman Center Director of Nursing Greg Poole-Dayan was significantly impacted by the movie “The Inconvenient Truth,” which addressed the effects carbon and fuel emissions have on the environment.

After sharing his thoughts with management and trustees, The Environmental Responsibility Trustee-Staff Workgroup was formed.

At our Westchester campus, Poole-Dayan explains the strategies already in place:

“We’ve replaced all of the windows in our facility with thermal pane windows. We are working . . . to ensure computers are turned off at the end of the day. We replaced all the incandescent bulbs with compact, fluorescent light bulbs.”

Residents are also involved, discussing the initiatives at resident council meetings. Poole-Dayan explains, “They were raised in an era of conservation . . . they’re helping us figure out other things we should be doing.”

At JHL’s Kittay House in the Bronx, pipes have been installed to connect Kittay House to the new Co-Generation Units across the garden in the Greenwall Pavilion. Co-generation makes it possible to use a less expensive energy fuel – in this case, natural gas – to produce a more expensive form of energy: electricity. A byproduct of this conversion is heat. Kittay House will put this heat to good use, producing hot water and limiting the need for boilers.

The Environmental Responsibility group has developed goals for 2008:

• 10% reduction in use of computer printer and copier paper
• Elimination of the use of bottled water
• 10% reduction in use of electricity, natural gas and oil
• 10% reduction in the use of gas/diesel fuel for JHH vans

Local workgroups have been formed at the nursing homes and in community services.

“We are a leader among healthcare facilities in this area,” said Poole-Dayan.

Who benefits?

“We’re a healthcare facility and reducing energy will actually result in a healthier environment,” Poole-Dayan explains. “. . . It will actually reduce pollutants in the air, and it’s also economically beneficial. If we reduce the use of our resources and we can save some money, that money can be put back into direct care for our residents.”

How can you help?

• Turn off lights, computer and appliances when not in use
• Use pitchers of water and glasses
• Re-use plastic bottles for 1 week before disposing. Use tap water—NYC’s tap water has been rated the best!
• Recycle at home and at work
• Do not let vehicles idle 

Read more about how JHL residents are getting involved.

Read a related article in the December 24, 2007 issue of Advance for Nurses.