Environmental stewardship initiatives addresses lagging optimism among health care workers, as shown in a recent study
Environmental awareness has been a priority for Cylix Shane throughout his 25-year career. He has worked to build sustainable health care facilities with as little waste and inefficiency as possible.
“This is the legacy I want to leave behind,” said Shane, facilities planner for Providence Portland Medical Center in Oregon. “I want to provide the best possible health care experience for my community, with the least amount of waste.”
Since 2011, Shane has brought sustainable practices to Providence facilities in Southern California, Eastern Washington and Oregon. His resumé includes converting older facilities for health care use instead of building new, developing composting systems for food waste and bringing efficiency to heating and cooling systems.
“I’ve been fortunate to work closely with teams that focused on efficiency, cost of maintenance and environmental impacts,” he said.
A system effort
Following Providence’s pledge in 2020 to work toward being carbon negative by 2030, Shane was one of the first caregivers to join the effort. Led by Beth Schenk, a former bedside nurse who now serves as Providence’s chief environmental stewardship officer, the environmental stewardship team works with Providence leadership to reduce waste and emissions, educate caregivers about health care’s impacts on the climate and offer them opportunities to join the work.
“We are committed to reducing emissions, but our work goes beyond that,” Schenk said. “It’s important to build equitable climate resilience in the communities we serve, focusing on social and racial justice. We aim to ensure we can serve consistently even through extreme weather events and the changes we see in our environment.
The current crisis calls for us to act boldly, with compassion,” she continued. “We are doing so by helping to care for our common home, ensuring equity today, and passing a healthy planet to the generations of tomorrow.”
Low optimism across the industry
A recent study of health care workers worldwide underscores the need for this work. Although health care is responsible for 8.5% of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, study results show that health care workers are motivated but not optimistic about the future.
The five-year study, concluded in 2024, used the Climate and Health Tool (CHANT) developed by Providence and Washington State University. The partners developed CHANT to gauge awareness, behavior and motivations related to climate change among health care professionals across the globe.
More than 6,800 health care workers participated in the study. Some 84% were female, nearly 75% were nurses and nearly 87% live and work in the U.S. Female, late-career nurses showed the highest level of concern and motivation.
Respondents expressed moderate to very high concern about climate change impacts, notably more so among non-U.S. respondents than U.S. workers. The health care workers also generally showed little optimism for progress and said they didn’t know what they could do, but they feel motivated to work at reducing greenhouse gas emissions, teach about climate impacts and prepare workplaces.
More caregivers getting involved
Schenk’s team has looked to address these perceptions within Providence’s workforce and it’s paying off. All 53 Providence-affiliated hospitals have Green Teams promoting environmental stewardship across each facility. The team produces a twice-monthly e-newsletter, with readership growing from 420 in 2020 to 1,325 in early 2026.
Shane understands the lack of optimism, given the expanding climate conditions impacting Providence facilities and individual caregivers. But he is optimistic given the Providence commitment to reducing climate impact.
“It gives me hope that our teams are looking at climate resilience, waste reduction and sustainable infrastructure,” Shane said. “I am inspired when I see our teams from across all regions come together to solve problems. I know a majority of our caregivers are experiencing burnout and have a hard time committing to environmental stewardship when the cost of living is increasing. I have been inspired when our leadership teams make hard decisions to invest in our future, considering the life cycle costs and impacts, rather than what is cheapest today, in hopes that the next generation of caregivers will figure it out.”
This optimism leads Shane’s efforts among his sphere of influence, encouraging caregivers to join their facility’s Green Team and incorporating environmental stewardship into their personal lives.
“If you want to get involved outside of work, first determine what you are passionate about — would you be interested in helping plant trees or clean up noxious weeds?” Shane said. “Maybe you are a data analyst and can help review our water-usage trends to spot potential leaks?
“I would look to build regenerative practices into your daily life,” he continued. “What legacy do you want to leave behind? It takes a community of like-minded people to generate meaningful change. It only takes one person to inspire others to commit and participate.”
Schenk agreed. “We each can’t do everything, but we can all do something,” she said.
