Lungcast: Resilience and Sustainability: Preparing Healthcare for the Future with Elizabeth Cerceo, MD

Resilience and sustainability have become defining priorities for the modern healthcare system, as the dual pressures of climate change and resource strain continue to test institutions worldwide. Hospitals and health networks are not only on the front lines of caring for those affected by environmental crises—they are also significant contributors to greenhouse gas emissions and waste. In the United States alone, the healthcare sector accounts for nearly 9% of national emissions, making it both a responder to and participant in the broader climate health challenge.1 The concept of resilience—ensuring that hospitals can withstand and recover from disasters, pandemics, and other disruptions—has become inseparable from the pursuit of sustainability, which seeks to reduce environmental impact and preserve the capacity to deliver care for future generations.

At its core, resilience in healthcare extends beyond physical infrastructure. It encompasses workforce stability, supply chain reliability, and the ability to continue providing essential services under extreme conditions—from climate-driven disasters to global health emergencies such as COVID-19. Meanwhile, sustainability initiatives within the sector have expanded from isolated “green” projects to systemwide strategies addressing energy efficiency, waste reduction, and carbon emissions. These efforts are increasingly supported by both economic and ethical imperatives: retrofitting hospitals and reducing reliance on high-emission materials or anesthetic gases can not only lower costs but also prevent future damage, protect patients, and improve community health outcomes.

In this episode of Lungcast, host Albert Rizzo, MD, speaks with Elizabeth Cerceo, MD, Professor of Medicine and Director of Climate Health at Cooper Medical School of Rowan University, about how resilience and sustainability intersect in today’s healthcare landscape. Cerceo, an expert in physician engagement and health policy, discusses practical strategies for building climate-ready health systems, the importance of integrating environmental stewardship into medical education, and how clinicians can view sustainability as a direct extension of patient care and public health.

"We traditionally will think about value just in terms of outcomes over costs. And we need to broaden that. We need to think about outcomes for the patient that we're treating, but also for populations. And we need to expand cost so that it's the planet and its populations and its people, it's all of those things put together. So, I think broadening our lens really changes the conversation," Cerceo said.

Lungcast is a monthly respiratory news podcast series hosted by Albert Rizzo, MD, chief medical officer of the ALA, and produced by HCPLive.

Subscribe to Lungcast on Spotify here, or listen to the episode below.

Editor's Note: Rizzo's disclosures include Pfizer, AstraZeneca, and Genentech. Cerceo has no relevant disclosures to report.

Reference

1. Seervai S, Gustafsson L, Abrams MK, et al. How the U.S. Health Care System Contributes to Climate Change. Article. The Commonwealth Fund. April 19, 2022. https://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/explainer/2022/apr/how-us-health-care-system-contributes-climate-change