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ESCH-R Workpackage 4 second co-creation session

In a circular hospital ecosystem, what value do you bring to the table? 

On Tuesday, February 11th, the second co-creation session of workpackage 4 took place at Microlab in Rotterdam. With all stakeholders in the room – ranging from raw materials suppliers, Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM), to waste processors – we discussed what the future of a circular hospital ecosystem would look like, and how value exchanges would be different compared to the current ecosystem.

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Webinar: Sustainable Procurement in Healthcare

On Wednesday, February 12, ESCH-R project board member Erik van Raaij, Professor of Sustainable Procurement in Healthcare and WP 4 lead for ESCH-R presented during the third ESCH-R-webinar about sustainable procurement in the healthcare sector.

Erik highlighted the critical role of procurement in reducing the environmental footprint of healthcare institutions. He introduced the concept of “Purchasing of Care” versus “Purchasing for Care”.

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ESCH-R Science Day!

The WP leaders and their PhD’s gave an update on their efforts during the first annual ESCH-R Science Day on 31 January 2025. The event was chaired by PI Nicole Hunfeld (Erasmus MC) and project board member Albert Wagelmans (Erasmus University).

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Gupta Strategists Training Day

On January 27th, Gupta organized a solution-based thinking workshop for PhDs and Postdocs in the ESCH-R consortium. Designed in collaboration with Gupta Strategists, Niels Hagenaars, Lisa Vogelpoel, Anouk van der Schot, and TU Delft professors Jan Carel Diehl and Jotte de Koning, the workshop focused on equipping participants with structured strategic thinking tools.

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Second ESCH-R Podcast live!

The partnership between Wittenburg Group and ESCH-R: How do they reinforce each other? 🏥🌍Join us as we explore the challenges and opportunities in transitioning healthcare towards a more circular future!

In each episode, hosted by Nicole Hunfeld (ESCH-R Coordinator) and Dimitry Vleugel, we bring together sustainability and circularity experts from industry leaders such as Wittenburg Group, alongside medical professionals driving change in healthcare.

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Graduation Master student Silke Rijcks:  Redesigning Medication Packaging for a Circular Future

Silke Rijcks graduated on January 29, 2025, from the Integrated Product Design master’s program at the Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering, with a focus on sustainable design. Together with ESCH-R PhD candidate Jasper Klasen, Silke executed a Material Flow Analysis (MFA) at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of Erasmus MC to assess its current environmental impact and to identify environmental hotspots (for potential reductions). For all medications prescribed more than 250 times in 2023 within the ICU, the components of the packaging were assessed by weight.

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Students from Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences’ from the Living Lab at Erasmus MC, part of the ESCH-R consortium, present their research findings

Two groups of students from the Care Innovation minor have worked on assignments for the ICU ad Interventional Cardiology departments. The interdisciplinary assignments aimed to gain more knowledge and insight into so-called hotspots of materials used in these departments, with a focus on reducing CO2 emissions.

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Webinar by Tamara Hoveling on Circular Strategies

On Wednesday January 15, ESCH-R hosted the second webinar with Tamara Hoveling, PhD researcher at TU Delft, about Circular Strategies. Tamara’s background in industrial design and biomedical engineering has led her to focus on innovative, circular/sustainable approaches in clinical health.

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Co-Creation and Visual Mapping in Workpackage 5 of ESCH-R

An inspiring co-creation session took place on Wednesday 15 January in our Living Lab at Erasmus MC as part of Workpackage 5 of the ESCH-R project.

What do I do?
Before starting on my graduate studies in the Netherlands, I had several years of experience in Taiwan’s medical device industry. My roles spanned manufacturing and R&D, where I focused on the development of medical devices—a career passion that continues to motivate my professional pursuits. Outside of work, I enjoy traveling and exploring new places. I love outdoor activities, including hiking and trekking in Taiwan, and swimming during the summers.

What am I up to during ESCH-R?
As a PhD candidate at UMC Utrecht, I am engaged in the ESCH-R project under workpackage 5, focusing on the design and implementation of circular technologies in healthcare settings. My research involves studying the application of these technologies in two clinical contexts: eye surgery in Ophthalmology and hemodialysis in nephrology.

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Environmental issues have always been close to my heart, and this passion led me to eagerly embrace this opportunity, as I wish to actively contribute to a more circular healthcare system.

What do I do?
I am a PhD Candidate at Eindhoven University of Technology, specifically in the Innovation Technology Entrepreneurship & Marketing group within the Department of Industrial Engineering & Innovation Sciences. This group undertakes various projects aimed at transitioning to a more sustainable society by analyzing changes in the behavior of individuals and firms.

Before starting this adventure, I worked as a process analyst, designing and analyzing possible development scenarios regarding territorial health solutions. This experience allowed me to better understand the interactions and activities that characterize the daily life of all stakeholders within the hospital ecosystem.

What am I up to during ESCH-R?
I am part of Workpackage 4, specifically, I am involved in identifying, designing, and evaluating viable business models for supply chain partners to enable circularity in the hospital value chain. This methodology aims to develop knowledge that professionals can use to design interventions for their field problems and I hope that my work will inspire the stakeholders of the hospital ecosystem to adopt more sustainable ways of producing and acting.

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We are keen to post a bio of everyone involved in this project on the website and in the newsletter as well! 

Herewith the format:

• Who am I?
• What do I do?
• What am I up to during ESCH-R? Connected to which WP? Which cases do I work on?
• What do you expect to accomplish within ESCH-R?

Please share your bio and picture with maaike@esch-r.org.

Community of Practice for Nurses and Educators: Together Towards a More Sustainable Healthcare Practice

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ESCH-R Webinars

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Inaugural lecture Prof. dr. ir. Erik van Raaij

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Community of practice for Nurses: Together towards a more sustainable healthcare practice

Have you attended a conference and presented your research about ESCH-R? We would love to feature your insights!

Please share:

• A short text about your experience: key takeaways, the research you presented, and any relevant highlights.
• Photos of your presentation, poster, or the event.

We will use your contribution for our website, newsletter, and possibly social media!

Please share your text and photos via info@esch-r.org

If you post on social media yourself, feel free to use these hashtags:
#circularhealthcare #circularity #ESCH-R #circularhospital #sustainability #research #greenhealthcare

Are you presenting soon and need a research poster template?
Download the ESCH-R Poster template via the button.

Would you like to share your ESCH-R news? Whether it’s vacancies, new PhDs, student achievements, research updates, publications, tweets, media appearances, or anything else, we’d love to hear from you! 

Deadline for newsletter submissions: 17 March, 2025
Next newsletter: 20 March, 2025

Share your updates with us via info@esch-r.org, and we’ll include them in our next newsletter!

ESCH-R 

Email adress: info@esch-r.org
Email adress: ESCH-R@erasmusmc.nl
Website: www.esch-r.org