Paul Goodenough

Anyone else here ever dealt with climate stress?

As we wrap up Earth Month, we look forward to May which brings us Mental Health Awareness Month. Coincidence? (haha)

On a serious note, we are surrounded by difficult news about climate change and environmental injustice all the time. We need to remember that mental health is a crucial component of sustainability. We have to fuel up and recharge ourselves on this journey towards "healthcare without harm." Sometimes it feels like we are fighting a losing battle. As a chaplain, I have the opportunity to make meaning with people and the truth is that the same could be said about a lot of things in life - especially the fact that everyone dies some day. So we look for that positive reframe, that thing about life that makes it worth living - to live well in every aspect of life while accepting the things that are out of our control.

At UCSF's Stress Measurement Network you can find a number of validated tools to assess levels of climate stress, eco-anxiety, eco-grief and other related themes. Consider circulating them in your institution to get data on how much your work friends are dealing with climate stress. And then use that data to advocate for more investment, more pathways to action, more solutions that can help us make the progress we want to make for our patient's health and our own health.

I am so grateful to the IU Health Spiritual Care System Meeting for allowing me to share my 10 Chaplain Actions that Promote Patient Health today! I think these actions apply to most healthcare workers, honestly. Take a look and let me know if any of them resonate for you. And feel free to drop your suggestions for anything you think I missed.

It was so great seeing all the things happening in IU Health for Earth Day! I hope you had a chance to mark the day in a meaningful way. A group of us at Methodist went on a Campus Nature Walk with an expert from the Indiana Native Plant Society. If you are curious to learn how you can become a nature champion in your very own yard or neighborhood, check out:

Indiana Native Plant Society
Homegrown National Park

Happy Earth Day! For my IU Health friends, check your email and newsletters for lists of special activities around our system to celebrate the connection between environment and health.

For those who are working at Methodist Hospital today, at 12:30 we have an expert from the Indiana Native Plant Society joining us for a Campus Nature Walk. Look for details on the Green Team Sharepoint. It is a PERFECT Spring day!

Though I am not Roman Catholic, I grieve this morning.

News is making the rounds this morning that Pope Francis has died on this Easter Monday. I think of my Catholic family and friends, my patients, my colleagues, and the healthcare workers in Catholic institutions and send you my deepest condolences.

Thank you, Pope Francis for your witness on the moral imperative of creation care. Thank you for centering the voice of the vulnerable, many of whom are our patients. Thank you for example of beautiful, humble simplicity, which is a model for sustainable society.

Creation care is patient care.

The last few weeks we have seen a lot of our major faith traditions celebrate holy days. Blessings to all who have been and will be celebrating!

Since my family celebrates Easter, I googled "sustainable Easter" for some ideas, and here is what I got:

https://www.sustainablejungle.com/sustainable-easter/

Regardless of your tradition, let me offer this blessing: May your high holy days inspire you to another year of promoting health and protecting the environment!

10 sustainable moments today so far and it isn't even lunch yet...

1. cold shower
2. only running shower water pre-lather and rinsing off
3. taking the stairs instead of the elevator up to the office
4. brekkie in reusable dish with reusable spoon
5. reusable mug for hot bevvy
6. plant-based, whole grain and clean protein oatmeal for brekkie
7. using a clean dishtowel after washing hands instead of single-use paper towel
8. using my patient list from yesterday and writing in the names of the new consults instead of printing a new one
9. turning off the switch on the conference meeting set up
10. checking in to the Ecochallenge and getting some inspiration from some fellow healthcare heroes

"change happens when lots of people do little things every day"

Here's a piece that ran in Becker's today that mentions my healthcare organization, IU Health, and the Ecochallenge!

Great work everybody! We are being the change that our patients need! Keep up the great work.

https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/quality/public-health/we-cant-afford-to-make-people-sicker-inside-iu-healths-sustainability-push/

Here's a piece that ran in Becker's today that mentions my healthcare organization, IU Health, and the Ecochallenge!

Great work everybody! We are being the change that our patients need! Keep up the great work.

https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/quality/public-health/we-cant-afford-to-make-people-sicker-inside-iu-healths-sustainability-push/

Hot tip for all my healthcare composting pals:

Remove any stickers on your produce first thing when you get home. Just make it part of your routine of putting groceries away. This way, your banana/avocado/cucumber peels will be able to go straight into the compost.

For some reason it seems gross to have to peel the sticker off of an already peeled, already slightly discolored and mushy peel.

So don't forget - produce stickers off when you get home. It'll make your soil happy and prevent landfill-associated methane.

#circulareconomy #coolfoods #earthmonth #stickersoff