Frequently Asked Questions
- What is HCWH and how does it operate?
- How can I get involved?
- What are the goals of HCWH?
- What is Practice Greenhealth?
- What is the Global Health and Safety Initiative?
- What is Clean Med?
- What is the Nurses Luminary Project?
Q: What is HCWH and how does it operate?
A: Health Care Without Harm is an international coalition of hospitals and health care systems, medical professionals, community groups, health-affected constituencies, labor unions, environmental and environmental health organizations and religious groups.
Membership in HCWH is based on 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 need to contribute dues. HCWH does not accept financial support from manufacturers or endorse specific products.
Health Care Without Harm has regional offices in Arlington, Virginia; Brussels; Buenos Aires and Manila. In other world regions, we work with Strategic Partners based in New Delhi, Durban, Dar es Saalam and elsewhere. For more information, visit www.noharm.org.
Q: How can I get involved?
A: There are many ways you can get involved:
- Membership in Health Care Without Harm is open to non-profit organizations and healthcare facilities and systems. How to get involved
- Sign our pledge to show your support for the Philippine Mercury Watch Countdown to 2010
- Sign up for the next CleanMed conference, May 11-13, 2010, Baltimore Convention Center, Baltimore, Maryland
Q: What are the goals of HCWH?
A: "First Do No Harm" ... Together with our partners around the world, Health Care Without Harm shares a vision of a health care sector that 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 the environment and contribute to disease.
For more information, choose an issue from the menu at left.
Q: What is Practice Greenhealth?
A: Practice Greenhealth is the nation's leading membership and networking organization for institutions in the healthcare community that have made a commitment to sustainable, eco-friendly practices. Members include hospitals, healthcare systems, businesses and other stakeholders engaged in the greening of healthcare to improve the health of patients, staff and the environment. For more information, visit www.practicegreenhealth.org.
Q: What is the Global Health and Safety Initiative?
A: The Global Health and Safety Initiative (GHSI) is a sector-wide collaboration to transform the way that healthcare designs, builds and operates its facilities as well as the products healthcare uses within those facilities. GHSI aims to build a learning community and leverage the expertise of its partners to support evidence-based improvements at the intersection of patient safety, worker safety and environmental sustainability. For more information, visit www.globalhealthsafety.org.
Q: What is Clean Med?
A: CleanMed is the premier environmental conference for leaders in health care. The conference attracts key decision-makers from across the health care supply chain. For more information, visit www.cleanmed.org.
Q: What is the Nurses Luminary Project?
A: The Luminary Project: Nurses Lighting the Way to Environmental Health is an effort to capture the illuminating stories of nurses' activities to improve human health by improving the health of the environment. The shining stories on this website show how nurses are creatively and strategically addressing environmental problems and illuminating the way towards safe hospitals, communities with clean air, land and water and children born without toxic chemicals in their bodies. For more information, visit www.theluminaryproject.org.
