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Just as the Hippocratic Oath promises to, "first, do no harm," HCWH is based on the premise that health care providers have a responsibility to eliminate practices that harm people and the environment. Health Care Without Harm celebrates 10th anniversary! Together with our partners around the world, we share a vision of a health care industry that first does no harm, and instead promotes the health of people and the environment. To that end, we are working to implement ecologically sound and healthy alternatives to health care practices that pollute and contribute to disease. Our campaign began after the US Environmental Protection Agency identified medical waste incinerators as the leading source of dioxin, one of the most potent carcinogens known. In response to this serious problem, a group of 28 organizations came together to form Health Care Without Harm (HCWH) in Bolinas, California in 1996. Since then, the campaign has grown into a broad-based international coalition. By late 2005, more than 440 organizations in 52 countries had joined HCWH. With offices in Washington, D.C., Prague, Buenos Aires and Manila, we are working in partnership with governments, non-governmental organizations and mainstream health care institutions around the world. In just one decade, the campaign has had a significant impact on major health systems, health care workers, medical device manufacturers, group purchasing organizations and government regulators. Our successes include:
In the United States, HCWH has created Hospitals for a Healthy Environment (H2E) in partnership with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the American Hospital Association and the American Nurses Association. Over 2,000 U.S. hospitals have joined this program to implement a shared agenda of toxics reduction and environmental sustainability. Our partnerships have also created the capacity to transform health care practices on a global scale. For instance, we are working in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme and the World Health Organization to develop a Global Environment Facility project to demonstrate sustainable health care waste management in Argentina, Latvia, Lebanon, India, the Philippines, Senegal and Vietnam. In Europe our campaign is increasingly successful and dynamic. We are working with doctors, nurses, governments and hospitals to promote environmentally sound health care in dozens of countries, while also advocating for overarching European Union-wide safer chemical policies. Our CleanMed conference, which has been a resounding success in the United States, is quickly becoming a European tradition; the 2006 event in Sweden is organized in partnership with the Stockholm County Council and the Apoteket. Health Care Without Harm's work affects the health of every person in every community. All of us – nurses, doctors, patients, our families and community members – have a role to play in transforming the health care industry so it is no longer a source of harm. By choosing to use safe, sustainable products and practices, the health care industry can reduce disease and be a catalyst for healing, not only in the health care setting, but in society at large. We welcome your support and involvement. Membership in HCWH is based upon an organizational commitment to the mission and goals of the campaign, and a desire to participate fully in helping to achieve them. Groups that join the campaign do not contribute dues. HCWH does not accept financial support from manufacturers or endorse specific products. For more information, or to join Health Care Without Harm, please e-mail info@hcwh.org. |