Increasing environmental stewardship in healthcare through clinical leadership

Dr. Svec champions sustainability in his leadership roles within Stanford Health Care.

In his role as Chief Medical Officer at Stanford Health Care – Tri-Valley, Dr. Svec serves on the Sustainability Executive Governance Committee, overseeing a baseline sustainability and climate assessment and developing a strategic sustainability plan this year.

As a Stanford School of Medicine faculty member, Dr. Svec is a co-professor of the Stanford Health Consulting Group class – a university course that provides the opportunity to analyze and solve major strategic and operational challenges in health care delivery and innovation through interdisciplinary team projects.

The class partnership began with an assessment of the quality and business case for sustainability in health care. Class teams have assessed the utilization and loss prevention opportunities of reusable linen inside of the Stanford Health Care, measuring the financial and environmental impact of linen use in the hospital setting. This quality improvement work is laying the foundation for expansion of reusable linen in place of single-use disposables. SHCG teams have also focused on energy use, water heating, and food selection.

Dr. Svec helped to launch the Stanford Health Care Sustainability Seed Grant 2022 with Dr. Lisa Shieh and Dr. Kari Nadeau to fund research projects on climate action and the health impacts of the climate crisis.

Creating sustainability strategy, executive leadership structures, and expertise for hospitals and healthcare practitioners.