Is Healthcare in America Green?

Healthcare without Harm
Move over Doctors without Borders, Healthcare without Harm wants to take over….or something like that. Healthcare without Harm is a global coalition of 473 organizations in more than 50 countries working to protect health by reducing pollution in the health care sector. Of the many initiatives the org is involved with, two recent white papers cover topics such as Resilient Flooring & Chemical Hazards: A Comparative Analysis of Vinyl and Other Alternatives for Health Care and Cleaning in Healthcare Facilities: Reducing Human Health Effects and Environmental Impacts. If that’s not challenging enough reading for you, try out their Discussion Draft Report entitled Healthy Hospitals, Healthy Planet, Healthy People - Addressing Climate Change in Health Care Settings released in May 2009 with the World Health Organization at the World Federation of Public Health Associations quadrennial meeting. You can tweet with them too.

Practice Greenhealth
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.

Recently the org announced the winners of the 2009 Environmental Excellence Awards. These competitive awards are given within the healthcare sector to institutions for outstanding programs to reduce the facility’s environmental footprint.

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Planetree
Planetree is a non-profit organization that provides education and information in a collaborative community of healthcare organizations, facilitating efforts to create patient centered care in healing environments.

Planetree has the vision that as a global catalyst and leader to promotes the development and implementation of innovative models of healthcare that focus on healing and nurturing body, mind and spirit.

Green Care Centers Association
Green Care Centers are care centers that provide a “greener” environment by recycling, reusing, and conserving. The association provides the resources, education, and encouragement to assist our members in creating and maintaining a greener environment. The centers distinguish themselves by providing a superior level of comfort while being accountable for the environment.

CleanMed
CleanMed is the premier environmental conference for leaders in health care. The conference attracts key decision-makers from across the health care supply chain. Their mission is to accelerate the development, use, and diffusion of environmentally preferable products and practices, and the construction of green buildings in health care by disseminating examples of best practices and convening health care professionals, university researchers, designers of professional buildings, and vendors of cleaner and safer products and services. The 2010 conference is being held in Baltimore, MD.