FDA Action on Cephalosporins “A Good Start"

Health Care Without Harm (HCWH) praised the Food and Drug Administration’s new proposed rule to limit the use of cephalosporin, a class of antibiotics, in food animal production. However, the agency needs to follow through and make this rule final, said the health advocacy organization, as well as address other antibiotics being used in animal food production. more 

Health Group Urges Senate Committee to Act on Testimony in Support of the Safe Chemicals Act of 2011

Health Care Without Harm (HCWH), a health advocacy group, urges Senators to act on testimony presented at Thursday’s U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee hearing in support of the Safe Chemicals Act (S. 847), which would substantially amend the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). It has been 35 years since TSCA was passed with no significant updates since, and in the meantime, evidence linking chemical exposures to negative health outcomes continues to rise, according to HCWH. more 

New Report Details Growth of Sustainable Hospital Food Service Programs

Health care food service programs are rapidly becoming more sustainable, following a conscious decision to provide fresher, more sustainable foods to benefit patients and the planet. A detailed accounting of these advances can be found in the 2011Menu of Change report, published by the Health Care Without Harm (HCWH) Healthy Food in Health Care (HFHC) program. This report is the second in a series of reports tracking progress in this area and contains the results of a survey of U.S. hospitals and long-term care facilities that work with HCWH on implementation of sustainable food service practices.  more 

The Economic Affliction of Asthma and Risks of Blocking Air Pollution Safeguards

Excerpt: "In a major first-ever report analyzing detailed asthma incidence and cost data, HCWH, ANHE and NASN conclude that the already staggering human and financial toll of asthma in the U.S. is likely to increase if Congress acts to stop important updates to the Clean Air Act."  more 

Making a Dent in Medical Waste

Excerpt: "New York Times article providing an overview of reprocessing as a strategy to reduce medical waste. "  more 

Green Cleaning in Healthcare

Green cleaning is a new, promising approach to environmental cleaning that aims at reducing harm to human health and the environment while maintaining or improving the hygiene of the healthcare environ¬ment. more 

Highlights from Sustainable Resilient Flooring Report

This document highlights key findings from the full Sustainable Resilient Flooring Choices for Hospitals report. The objective of this study was to examine the recent experiences that architects, installers, facility managers and users have had with alternative, green resilient flooring materials in hospital settings. This research effort focused on specific resilient flooring materials, including rubber, polyolefin and linoleum. more 

Sustainable Resilient Flooring Choices for Hospitals

The objective of this study was to examine the recent experiences that architects, installers, facility managers and users have had with alternative, green resilient flooring materials in hospital settings. This research effort focused on specific resilient flooring materials, including rubber, polyolefin and linoleum. Sharing the user experiences is expected to demystify these lesser-known products, identify key issues, and potentially lead to increased adoption. more 

Minding the Gap: Research Priorities to Address Pharmaceuticals in the Environment

The purposes of this report are to 1) provide an overview of known information about the life cycle of exposure pathways of pharmaceuticals in the environment, 2) identify the gaps in our knowledge, and 3) make a series of recommendations for further research, policy discussion, and action along the pipeline of exposure pathways. more 

Healthcare Ventilation Research Collaborative: Displacement Ventilation Research

In Phase I, research was conducted to assess both natural ventilation and DV in exam rooms, patient rooms and emergency waiting rooms. Testing in 2006 and 2007 in vendor laboratories and in the field supported the hypothesis that low sidewall ventilation at two thirds the air flow of traditional mixing overhead ventilation (OHV) had equal or better performance in all areas. As with any change, practical questions arose from hospital design, operations and code enforcement agencies regarding DV. The questions precipitated a more formal research effort in 2008 to more rigorously test the findings from 2006 and 2007, and to create and validate a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) design tool to respond to the questions that had been raised. more 

A Research Agenda for Advancing Patient, Worker and Environmental Health and Safety in the Health Care Sector

This paper focuses on research within the health care sector in the U.S. centering on patient, worker and environmental health and safety. It identifies research priorities at the intersection of these "three safeties." It describes the Health Care Without Harm / Global Safety and Health Initiative (HCWH/GHSI) Research Collaborative, from whose work this Research Agenda was developed. It identifies research priorities in the near- and long-term at the intersection of the three safeties. more 

The Accuracy of Alternatives to Mercury Sphygmomanometers

This monograph comprises a review of the medical literature that evaluates the accuracy of mercury, aneroid, and oscillometric blood pressure devices. Although most professional organizations still require mercury for validation protocols, electronic pressure gauges offer superior accuracy and should be substituted for mercury manometers for calibration and validation. Organizations that publish validation and calibration protocols should immediately re-evaluate their recommendations regarding the use of mercury devices. more