2024 Lightning Talk: Regional Planetary Health Table, Dr Marian Berry, Kootenay Lake Hospital MSA, Interior Health. Photo  L to R: Dr Devin Harris – Interior Health Executive Medical Director, Jennifer Brunelle (Project Manager), Dr Kyle Merritt (Kootenay Lake Hospital), Danica Burwash (Project Manager), Ozora Amin (Interior Health), Cindy Myles (FE), Dr Andrew Sellars (SSC FE Working Group)

Facility Engagement Regional Planetary Health Table

MSAs and Interior Health (IH) have established a Regional Planetary Health Table (RPHT) that has medical staff working with health authority leaders and staff to advance environmental sustainability initiatives, share local efforts, and collaborate regionally among MSAs.

The first-ever region-wide table responds to a growing interest in planetary health from medical staff across the region, the expansion of Interior Health’s Environmental Sustainability Team, and development of an IH Climate Change and Sustainability Roadmap. 

Collaboration for collective action

The table includes representation from ten MSAs, three physician leaders with a regional scope, and key health authority partners from Environmental Sustainability and Climate Change and Health. It aims to:

• Bring together passionate site-level physicians to collaborate with regional-level IH partners to expedite decision making and leverage economies of scale when making change.
• Ensure physician perspectives are included in policy decisions.
• Increase medical staff knowledge and awareness of planetary health as a concept.
• Provide opportunities for medical staff in IH to learn about initiatives across the province.

Activities to date

• Successfully worked with health authority partners to secure a medical leadership position for IH planetary health.
• A knowledge-sharing event.
• A climate-conscious inhaler pilot based on the work Dr Val Stoynova and Celia Culley.
• Exploration of projects around single use plastics, inpatient food services, and anesthetic gases.
• Unique and inspiring learning opportunities (Dr. Andrea MacNeill – VCH Regional Medical Director for Planetary Health, Drs. Val Stoynova & Celia Culley (Pharmacist), Dr. Warren Bell – Founder of CAPE, Andrea Wnuk – HQBC).

Impact 

• Having everyone together has fostered robust relationships between site-level physicians and influential IH partners for collaboration and shared decision-making.
   
• A Facility Engagement Certificate of Excellence in Partnership was awarded to this project for building a strong and successful partnership between medical staff and Interior Health with early and frequent collaboration.

Lessons and success factors

• Opting for projects with minimal opposing forces is proving to be most effective and maintains the group’s momentum. 
   
• Project management and administrative support are crucial. Without them, the table would lack momentum and organization. 
   
• This work takes time, requiring patience, resilience, and continued collaboration.
   

“We found it was really important to build relationships with high-up administrative partners to develop more wide-spread involvement in this work. We had a strong local Facility Engagement group in Nelson at Kootenay Lake Hospital, and involvement in Doctors and Nurses for Planetary Health, and we wanted a more structured team to develop partnerships with other Medical Staff Associations.” – Dr Marian Berry, RPHT Physician Lead
 

MORE RESOURCES

 “Learn – Spread – Embed” guides strategic priorities and projects.

1. Learn: To build the table members’ knowledge and understanding of Planetary Health and sustainable health systems
2. Spread: To spread successful local-level initiatives to multiple sites across the IH region
3. Embed: To embed climate conscious health care initiatives into the IH health system
    

• RPHT Terms of Reference  
• Example of Quarterly “one-pager” Committee update 
• Interior Health Climate Change and Sustainability Roadmap