New Flyer! Learn how to safely dispose of unwanted medicines (Programs/Pharmaceuticals/Proper Disposal of Meds).
Try the new "locally grown" recipe. (Programs/Food/Featured Item).
Read Philadelphia Inquirer article on personal care products (Articles).
Get involved through the Contact Us page.
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WHEN Announces:
HEALTHCARE'S HARVEST:
Seeding Sustainability in Hospital Kitchens
Green Menu:
5 Hospital Chefs
10 Recipes
1 Professional Kitchen
10 Ways to Define Sustainability
Free Food Samples
Certificates of Attendance
Tuesday, October 5, 2010, 2 p.m.– 5 p.m.
View the invitation here.
Download registration form here.
(Contact us for an emailed version.)
Public Event
Thanks for coming out to WHEN's video salon on July 22nd to view The Story of Cosmetics, by Annie Leonard and Free Range Graphics.
 Shampoos, make-up, lotions...are your products safe and healthy?
Missed it? View the video here. Then take action...click here to support introduced legislation that would phase out ingredients linked to cancer, birth defects and developmental harm.
Download the sheet on ingredients to avoid by visiting our Tools page.
Thanks to SA VA for hosting (read their blog, "About Your Face") on the event. SA VA is locally made, globally inspired, and community focused fashion.
Philly Inquirer's Sandy Bauers' article about personal-care products. Read it here.
Health Care Opportunities
1. Sign the Pledge for Sustainable Foods in Health Care (see Program: Healthy Food in Health Care)
2. Sign on in support of PAMTA, the Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act (see Programs: Food & Sustainability).
3. Sign on to ensure safer products in healthcare in support to TSCA (see Programs: Health Care).
4. Receive free bassinet mattresses (size: 12.5" x 26.5" x 1.5" thick) for each bassinet in your hospital. The waterproof mattress pads from Naturepedic are made of organic cotton, free of polyurethane foam, PBDEs, vinyl, phthalates (DINP, etc.) and are GREENGUARD certified. They are easily cleanable with warm water and gentle soap/disinfectant. They will be shipped free to your hospital The free program is coordinated by Healthy Child Healthy World, a non-profit organization. If interested, send name, hospital, shipping address, phone number, and number of bassinets you have through our Contact Us page. We will forward all requests to the program on a weekly basis.
5. Reduce Bottled Water sales (see Programs: Healthier Food for Healthier Communities).
6. Join us for our 2nd Sustainable Food Cook Training for healthcare October 5th. Have a recipe you'd like to share? Send it to us.
7. WHEN is facilitating the next PSI Pharmaceutical Source Reduction National Dialogue on October 19th.
8. WHEN & the Center for Environmental Policy at ANSP are developing Environmental Health Nursing for Nurses on November 5th.
Five Hospitals - Abington Memorial Hospital, Holy Redeemer Hospital and Medical Center, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, and Christiana Care Health System (including Christiana Hospital and Wilmington Hospital - actively participated in WHEN's Bottled Water Reduction Challenge from World Water Day (3/22/10) through Earth Day (4/22/10). These hospitals reduced sales of bottled water with signage, educational materials and financial incentives to encourage staff and customers to bring reusable drinking containers and use drinking fountains and water dispensers. They also served water in pitchers and glasses for catered events.
• Abington reduced sales of 1300 liters of bottled water (about half of normal sales for that time period). Using the formula put forth by the Pacific Institute that it takes 3 liters of water to produce 1 liter of bottled water, Abington thereby saved 3900 liters of water that it would have taken to create that volume of bottled water.
• Jefferson created Water Wednesday, where free, filtered, cold water is provided at a location near the cafeteria and has continued this beyond the Challenge.
“Although I believe we've only made a small inroad with this process, it definitely made a difference. The nice thing is that I see many more individuals utilizing the filtered water option at the ice machine versus going for the bottle of water.” Mary G.
• Holy Redeemer reduced the sales by 70 (20 fl. oz) bottles of water - the equivalent of 124.2 liters of water - and offered educational messages to customers and staff.
• Christiana reduced sales of 76 (.5 L) bottles of water - the equivalent of 114 liters of water - and has posted permanent signs on the refrigerators suggesting customers use free filtered water stations in the Café instead of bottled water.
Main Line Health System (consisting of Lankenau Hospital, Bryn Mawr Hospital, Paoli Hospital and Bryn Mawr Rehabilitation Facility), inspired by the Challenge taken by the other hospitals, also promoted use of water dispensers and reduced bottled water use through educational material, signage and financial incentives, and has continued its water strategy by providing new water filtration dispensers in strategic areas of the hospitals.
Way to go! If you're reducing bottled water sales, let us know. Together, we can support clean, safe, good tasting water for all communities.
Julie A. Becker, PhD, MPH, President, represented WHEN at CleanMed. She gave an oral presentation, "Minding the Gap: Research Priorities to Address Pharmaceuticals in the Environment". This PPT builds on her white paper published by Health Care Without Harm. View the PPT here. Dr. Becker also gave a poster presentation on "Identifying Stakeholders’ Practices and Concerns about Pharmaceuticals: A Qualitative Study". View the poster here.
Congratulations to Erin Johnson, BSN, MSN/MPH (c), a volunteer with WHEN, who just won the 2010 Hollie Shaner-McRae Nursing Student Essay Contest from Health Care Without Harm's The Luminary Project. Erin's essay, "Voices of Students" won first prize and entitles her to attend CleanMed in Baltimore, MD this May. Read more under our Articles section.
Kudos to Julie A. Becker, PHD, MPH, Founder & Board President, for completing her fellowship at the CDC Environmental Public Health Leadership Institute. Her project involved conducting an original research study to 1) describe the practices from stakeholders about prescribing, dispensing and paying for medications and 2) identify barriers and facilitators that can reduce wasting of medications. The project’s goal is to reduce the amount of unused, unwanted or expired pharmaceuticals from entering the drinking water. For more information, contact Dr. Becker via our Contact Us page and select Board of Directors.
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