Healthy Hospitals

Sustainable Food Roundtable for Health Care

November 1, 2007

WHEN’s 2nd Sustainable Food Round Table for Health Care was hosted by Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia.  Thirty-four attendees representing 10 different hospitals, as well as thirteen other attendees from different organizations participated.  Speakers included Teresa Mendez-Quigley, WHEN, Sustainability in Healthcare; Shelley Chamberlain and Mary Grant,TJUH, Jennifer Ross, AMH, and John Ward, HRMC, on the Healthy Food in Healthcare Pledge Signers Panel; Walker Lunn, EnviRelation LLC, Converting Food Scraps into Compost; Brian Lang, The Food Trust, Farmer’s Markets and CSAs; Julia Knott, Oke USA, Social Justice, Fair Trade and Health; and Dianne Moore, WHEN, Menu of Options. 

For more information or to sign up to attend future round tables please email WHEN at healthyfoodinhealthcare@comcast.net.

Priority Chemicals & Toxins Reduction:
What Every Hospital Needs to Know
Monday, May 7, 2007
The Priority Chemicals & Toxins Reduction workshop, held on May 7, 2007, hosted at The Wellness Center by Doylestown Hospital.  had 56 attendees.  Topics included overview of EPA's Priority Chemicals,  PVC as a PBT, DEHP in the NICU, mercury in health care, IPM, Nursing leadership, and EPA Resources.
This program is the 2nd in a series of 4 free workshops planned over 2 years as part of the grant from the US EPA on greening hospitals in Southeastern PA.  Partnering organizations include Delaware Valley Healthcare Council/Health Care Improvement Foundation, Greater Philadelphia ASHES, PA Department of Environmental Protection, and Women's Health & Environmental Network.  We are grateful to our hosts at Doylestown Hospital and to ASHES for providing space and meals.  Copies of presentations will be available at www.when.org one month following the workshop.
Presentations:

Speaker Biographies and Program

EPA Resources

Nursing Leadership

Priority Chemicals in Healthcare

NICU without Harm

Persistent Bioaccumulative Toxins & Safer Alternatives

Green Hospital Initiative

Priority Chemicals & Toxins Reduction Program

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3 THINGS YOU CAN DO

Here is a list of things you can easily do to help patients, children, workers, and your community. Check off (three items that you will commit to doing over the next six months.)

Mercury: A heavy metal that is a neurological and reproductive toxin in people and mimics lead by reducing intelligence in babies and young children. Mercury in fish consumed by women bio-accumulates and passes through the placenta and into breast milk.

• Teach colleagues/patients to never vacuum, incinerate or toss mercury items in the trash.

• Ask that mercury thermometers or sphygmomanometers be phased out of use and current items recycled.

• Plan a mercury thermometer exchange in your community.

Dioxin: A carcinogen linked to birth defects, decreased fertility, immune system suppression, and other hormonal dysfunction. The manufacturing and incineration of PVC (vinyl) plastics contribute to its creation. Dioxin concentrates in fat, thus there are high levels of it in breast milk.

• Ask purchasing department to buy alternative medical items and supplies that do not contain PVC/vinyl.

• Request administration to not incinerate medical waste, the single largest source of dioxin air pollution.

• Teach others about the impact of dioxin and alternatives to I.V. blood bags, office supplies and shower curtains.

DEHP. Di-Ethylhexyl Phthalate is a chemical ingredient that makes polyvinylchloride (PVC) plastics (vinyl) soft and pliable. Because DEHP does not bond, it can leach into a patient's blood stream.

• Participate in Environment of Care Committee meetings to discuss patient safety.

• Ask purchasing department to request and buy DEHP-free and PVC-free intravenous (IV) bags and tubing, umbilical artery catheters, blood bags and infusion tubing, enteral nutrition feeding bags, and nasogastric tubes.

• Educate NICU, nursery and pediatrics staff about the potential harm to male fetuses, newborn boys and pre-adolescent males.

• Join WHEN and Health Care Without Harm to help us continue these educational programs.