April 14, 2026
Meet Green Doer: Carin Dansen
Carin Dansen has started as a Green Nurse at the MUMC+ since 1 March. With more than 37 years of work experience in the hospital, including 26 years in maternity and delivery rooms, she brings a broad clinical and scientific background to this new role. In addition to her work as an obstetric high-care nurse, she is a nursing scientist, and this combination enables her to give practical and substantiated form to sustainability in healthcare practice. In her position as Green Nurse, she works four hours a week to reduce the environmental impact of healthcare and inspire colleagues to work more consciously and sustainably.
Motivation
When asked why she applied for the position of Green Nurse, Carin replies: “We throw an awful lot away in the hospital. I notice that the mindset to work greener isn't really alive with every colleague yet. That's why I saw this as an opportunity to make a difference. As a nursing ward, we are a reflection of the entire hospital. If we can make changes on a small scale, that's a first step and then make a difference throughout the hospital.”
Getting started with interventions
Carin: “I'm going to work with an implementation supervisor Jean Billekens working to initiate sustainable interventions in nursing wards. To do this, Jean is associated with all Limburg hospitals, giving us a good idea of what's going on in our region, how other hospitals work and where we can learn from each other. We will be working on interventions at the MUMC+ in the next 2 years. To begin with, we chose four interventions for 2026.”
Greening care together focuses on two topics: sustainability within nursing wards and making the use of medicines more sustainable. As a Green Nurse, Carin is closely involved in making nursing wards more sustainable. The interventions chosen for this topic for 2026 are in line with the Circularity pillar in the Green Deal Sustainable Care 3.0.
