On November 18, 2022, at Fundación Valle del Lili (Valle del Lili Foundation), (FVL) we received the visit of Susan Wilburn, Senior Advisor on Sustainability of Health Without Harm, specialist in occupational and environmental health, and former International Director of Sustainability in Health Without Harm, who highlighted us as a reference hospital at the national and international level with good environmental health practices.

Susan is internationally recognized for leading sustainability campaigns in the health sector, such as the Sustainable Health Without Harm program and the United Nations Development Program between 2018 and 2021, and the mercury disposal and health waste management project in 4 African countries, among many others.

During her tour of our main headquarters, Susan defined us as a leading and innovative institution for sustainable purchasing worldwide. “I'm here to observe, record, and meet the people and the work they're doing. I want to share it in different meetings I have on these issues, because many hospitals are learning from their experience and want to replicate it. ”

Among the practices that stood out from our services were:

• The management of materials in the operating room, which seeks to favor reusable materials. “Here at the FVL (Valle del Lili Foundation for its acronym in Spanish) they do a great job of changing packaging and requiring suppliers to meet their requirements for sustainable materials.” 
• The ratio of anesthetic gas use to intravenous anesthesia. "They have a balanced ratio because the gases are greenhouse gases, even much higher than the carbon equivalent between 400 and 1,000 times, so the management of the gases here is very exemplary, even today I told the director of anesthesiology that it is important that the Ministry of Health in Colombia knows what you are doing here because they committed to the WHO (World Health Organization) climate and health program since the UN (United Nations) climate negotiations, and the work here at FVL makes Colombia look like an example to follow."
• Handling hazardous chemicals in the laboratory."It is quite important, not only for laboratory workers who may be exposed, but also for patients and the community in general since it is important that the chemicals used to diagnose and treat do not become hazardous waste for the community."

Susan, who also represents civil society organizations in the health sector at the Bureau of the International Conference on Chemicals Management, concluded by recognizing the network that has been created from different institutions for environmental health and good practices. “Mónica Castaño, Environmental Management and Sanitation Coordinator of the Valle del Lili Foundation, is connected to hospitals throughout Latin America. They know each other, they work together, they support each other, when they encounter challenges and barriers they call each other to solve the problem, so for me the most important thing is the network we have built. ”

We will continue to be #GreenHospital, committed to good environmental practices for the planet, our patients, Lili citizens and the community.