We convene a leadership table with representatives from all 14 TAHSN hospitals, from the four collaborating health science faculties, and from critical external partners, co-chaired by a TAHSN CEO and a health science faculty Dean. The leadership table oversees the efforts of working groups and pilot initiatives and supports regular reporting to the TAHSN Committee of CEOs.
The Community of Practice was established in the fall of 2020 by the Toronto Academic Health Science Network (TAHSN) and the University of Toronto’s Council of Health Sciences (CHS) to collaboratively address the challenge of climate change in the health sector.
In recognition of the fact that the very sector tasked with maintaining and improving health contributes significantly to environmental changes that threaten it, the Community of Practice’s goal is to support a shift toward environmentally sustainable healthcare, which is defined as care that aims to “improve, maintain or restore health, while minimizing negative impacts on the environment and leveraging opportunities to restore and improve it, to the benefit of the health and well-being of current and future generations.” (WHO, 2017)
Collectively embracing sustainability as a healthcare community means that we work together to provide evidence, ideas, leadership and advocacy to develop a climate resilient, low carbon and sustainable health system through action, research and education.
