Dear Editor:
I was pleased to read, “SSM Health green effort for environment, climate change,†in the April 29 News Tribune. There is no industry that should be more interested in the health effects of climate change than health care. Nice that our own St. Mary’s Hospital, an SSM affiliate, is connected to this effort.
If CO2 emissions are not reduced soon, devastating changes will occur that will greatly affect our health. Increased extreme heat cycles will contribute to deaths from cardiovascular and respiratory disease, particularly among the elderly. Increased extreme weather events have tripled since the 1960s. Floods are increasing in frequency and intensity. These contaminate freshwater and heighten water-borne disease and create breeding grounds for disease carrying insects such as mosquitoes. Rising temperatures and variable precipitation can decrease access to healthy local food production.
In addition to newly announced environmental initiatives, SSM Health is using LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) principles in design and construction of new health facilities. Such design was used at our new St. Mary’s hospital.
SSM Health is a Catholic, not-for-profit health system. The Franciscan Sisters of Mercy who founded SSM Health have been very active in publicizing their concern about climate change. Pope Francis’ encyclical on the environment released this June speaks extensively on the dangers of climate change. It is a document that everyone, certainly every Catholic, should read.
As excited as I was to have Pope Francis visit the United States and address environmental issues in 2015, I’ve been concerned that nothing would change. Learning that our towering new hospital stands as a Jefferson City landmark for environmental progress shows that the Pope’s message resonates in the heartland.