Health Care Without Harm

(Washington, DC) http://www.hcwh.org	Total Program Award: $225,000 over 1 year
General Support	Program Contribution Environment Program, $100,000 Health Program, $75,000 Interprogram Initiatives for Social and Economic Justice, $50,000

To provide general support to Health Care Without Harm (HCWH), a broad-based coalition of health care providers and workers, environmental activists, professional medical associations, academic institutions and people affected by environmentally-caused diseases. The coalition aims to fundamentally alter the market for medical practices and products, thereby securing major changes in the environmental practices of the health care industry. HCWH advocates against the use of PVC plastic and mercury in the manufacture of medical supplies; educates the health care industry and purchasing organizations, as well as patients and communities, about dangers of these chemicals in medical supplies and consumer products; is developing a nationally recognized environmental health standard for hospital construction and renovation to make health care facilities healthy environments for workers and patients; works to eliminate the common practice of medical waste incineration; and advocates for the health care industry to take the lead in recycling computer equipment and the computer industry to eliminate some of the most toxic chemicals from computer production.

This grant also satisfies:

Environment Program: Objective I, Strategies 1 & 2, and Objective II, Strategies 1 & 2
Health Program: Objective II, Strategy 2
Interprogram Initiatives for Social and Economic Justice: Objectives I & II