A letter from our founder Gary Cohen:
These are challenging times for all of us, and I hope you are in good spirits and health. I can’t thank you enough for being an ally in our work.
The future has never felt so unpredictable. At Health Care Without Harm, we are adapting to our changing reality. As a community, we have seen our medical system buckle under the weight of COVID-19. While there is much uncertainty, we know that now, more than ever, our community needs us.
And we need you.
Today, I am telling you about the work of Health Care Without Harm because making a gift of $50 will help propel our work forward.
Health Care Without Harm has had some incredible successes, but we cannot lose momentum now.
Earlier this summer, we worked with our Health Care Climate Council to release a newly updated Climate Action Playbook that shares resources and success stories of hospitals and health systems pioneering climate and health innovations. The playbook is intended to help hospitals operationalize climate solutions charting a course toward net-zero climate emissions.
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This is me and Council members with Rep. Kathy Castor (center), chair of the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis in Oct. 2019. Learn more about that visit and the part it played in the Congressional climate report released in June.
Our team recognizes that complex problems require innovative solutions, and with your support we are committed to providing long-lasting change.
This summer, we are launching initiatives designed to move health care toward local, equitable supply chains that reduce environmental harm and provide economic growth.
This will make certain that when you walk through the doors at your hospital, it is a safe and healthy environment for your care and for the health workers we count on.
It also ensures the equipment they need to do their jobs is available and that we build sustainable supply chains which have the ability to heal instead of hurt.
The first of these initiatives, the groundbreaking sustainable procurement guide for health care, was released earlier this month.
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Health care's collective purchasing power can shape the marketplace, create demand for sustainable products, and embrace our broader healing mission to heal from racism and environmental destruction. That's what our new guide is all about.
Throughout the fall, Health Care Without Harm will continue to host virtual sessions addressing the most pressing issues that we’re all facing as individuals and communities. Health care is at the center of these issues and is a powerful lever for change - from addressing supply chain resilience in the world of COVID-19 to reducing food insecurity and economic loss in communities during uncertain times, to the impacts of climate change on public health and reducing medical waste during a pandemic.
The recording of the first session, Building community health and resilience beyond COVID-19, is available for streaming.
There has never been a more critical time for hospitals and health care to take action as the pandemic and climate change continue to put an enormous burden on the health sector. Together, with your support, we are working to keep you and your family safe and your health systems available when they are needed.
I cannot thank you enough for considering a gift and hope you will join Health Care Without Harm in transforming the health sector worldwide to become ecologically sustainable and a leading advocate for environmental health and justice.
Sincerely,
Gary Cohen
Founder of Health Care Without Harm
P.S. Your financial support enables us to build healthy and resilient communities and advocate for your health.