Resilience Spotlight: Health practitioners, educators and students declare climate change a public health emergency, unite to decarbonize health care

Karin Zuegge, MD, UW Health Medical Director of Sustainability, conducts a waste audit at UW Health. (Photo courtesy of Karin Zuegge, MD)

Health professionals on campus and from across the state of Wisconsin are battling the pandemic while taking action in recognition that the global climate crisis is another public health emergency – an emergency with no vaccine. Nurses, doctors, public health workers and health professionals are advocating for equitable solutions to decrease climate change impacts on human health and taking action. UW Health is working with the UW–Madison Office of Sustainability, the School of Medicine and Public Health, the School of Nursing, and the School of Pharmacy to develop action plans to decarbonize their health system and operations. Karin Zuegge, MD, UW Health Medical Director of Sustainability, led a multidisciplinary green team to address waste in clinical practice.