On this installment of StudioTulsa on Health, we learn about Health Care Without Harm, an international coalition of hospitals, health care systems, medical professionals, environmental health organizations, and similar groups. This coalition was formed in 1996, shortly after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency identified medical waste incineration as the leading source of dioxin emissions in this country. (Dioxin is one of the most potent carcinogens in existence.) As per the Health Care Without Harm website: "Just as the Hippocratic Oath promises to 'first, do no harm,' health care providers have a responsibility to eliminate practices that harm people and the environment. Health Care Without Harm's mission is to transform the health sector worldwide, without compromising patient safety or care, so that it becomes ecologically sustainable and a leading advocate for environmental health and justice." Our guest is Gary Cohen, the president and co-founder of Health Care Without Harm, who was awarded a MacArthur "genius grant" last year in recognition of his 30 years of working in the environmental health movement.
ST on Health: Concerning the International Coalition Known as Health Care Without Harm
