Two new physicians have joined the Vancouver Acute/Vancouver Community (VA/VC) Medical Staff Planetary Health Committee. Drs. Richard Cook and Jay Slater join committee chair Dr. Matthew Bennett and Drs. Rashmi Chadha, Kelly Lau, Harpinder Nagi, and Tyler Smith as VPSA representatives in promoting the committee’s work. The group’s mandate is to educate, engage, and empower medical staff to become planetary health leaders in their professional lives with the goal of increasing awareness within their departments and affiliated institutions to lead rapid change in systems and processes.

Dr. Cook has been a cardiac surgeon at VGH since 2005 and is a member of the Canadian Cardiovascular Society’s Climate Change Working Group.

“ Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth was a real wake up call for me,” recalled Dr. Cook. “I’m concerned about how much waste we produce at VGH and how frustrating it can be to try to make changes. I’m pleased to be taking part in a project to develop a team responsible for reducing waste generated in the various cardiac sciences clinical areas at the hospital; several projects have been launched successfully. I’m hoping this model can be used in other areas at VGH.”

As a family physician in geriatric care, Dr. Slater cares for a population that is vulnerable to heat events, poor air quality, food insecurity, and housing insecurity. He is the Vancouver Division of Family Practice’s lead on planetary health.

“The service we provide to seniors tends to be carbon intensive, including disposable gloves, continence products, and single-use plastics,” said Dr. Slater. “I believe family doctors, nurse practitioners, and home-care workers could play a significant part in reducing this carbon footprint. The work I’m doing with the Division meshes well with the work of the VA/VC Medical Staff Planetary Health Committee. I’m hoping to bring about enhanced collaboration between the community and acute sectors to amplify our efforts.”

Keep an eye on your weekly Checkup newsletter for the latest initiatives from the Vancouver Acute/Vancouver Community (VA/VC) Medical Staff Planetary Health Committee. Check out resources on our website.

Photo: Dr. Richard Cook (left) and Dr. Jay Slater.