NurseĢýs Passion for Environmental Sustainability Stems from Dedication to Patient Care
After joining the team atourFresenius Kidney CaredialysiscenterinLehigh Valley, Pennsylvania,Registered NurseJessecaDavis saw an immediate opportunity for process improvement.With the fresh perspective of a new hire and a passion forconservation,Davisidentifieda solution to one of our clinicsĢý biggest waste contributors: plastic cupsused togive patientstheir medication.
ĢýEvery day we were using and disposing of 30 to 50 single-use,1-ounce plastic medicine cups to hand out capsules and gel caps,Ģý said Davis.ĢýThatĢýs 9,000 to 15,000 cups a year at just one location. But youdonĢýtneed a plastic cup to hold a gel cap. ItĢýs wasteful and harmful to our environment.Ģý
DavisĢýsideawas simpleand effectiveĢýget her clinic to switch to paper cups, which decompose15times faster than plastic and pose less of an environmentalimpact. With encouragement and support from herclinicmanager, she connected with key decision-makers, whoapproved theshiftandhelped Davissucceed in her mission.
The initiative was so successful that all Fresenius Kidney Care clinics adopted it by the summer of 2021. Now, each of our dialysis centers use paper 1-ounce medicine cups and 3-ounce water cups instead of plastic ones. Davis explains, "it will help us save about 31.2 million plastic cups from landfills every year."
Davisviewscaring forthe environmentaspart of her role as a healthcareprofessionaland saw the use ofpaper cupsas away toreduce the amount of waste we send to landfills.
ĢýSingle-use plastic items can take hundreds of years to break down, and they release toxic gases into our air and water systems while they do,Ģý she explained.ĢýThisnegativelyimpacts our patients,sinceforthem, clean water is life or death.Ģý
Davis isa greatexample ofsustainability in action andourefforts toandimprovethe lives of our patients, employees, and communities.
