FOCUS AREAS ENVIRONMENT

This 35-page booklet was developed by the Catholic Health Association and Health Care Without Harm to help health care organizations seek opportunities for facility community benefit, as well as to encourage and inform health care leaders to engage people and groups within their organizations and communities to improve community health through environmental improvements.

Pope Benedict XVI and the U.S. Catholic Bishops accept the scientific consensus that climate change is upon us and urge prudent action now to more faithfully care for Creation and to avoid more severe consequences in the future, and they warn that its adverse impacts will fall heaviest on the poor at home and abroad.

With our members, CHA is working to raise the issue of environmental stewardship as a mission–based clinical and public policy imperative. We act as responsible stewards of God’s creation as we respond as a ministry to building healthier communities. This 20-page booklet, “Connecting Health Care With Public and Environmental Health,” contains an article by Ted Schettler, MD, MPH, science director of the Science and Environmental Health Network (SEHN). Dr. Schettler has worked extensively with community groups and non-governmental organizations throughout the U.S. and internationally, addressing many aspects of human health and the environment. He has served on advisory committees of the U.S. EPA and National Academy of Sciences. The booklet is part of CHA’s ongoing commitment to provide resources to Catholic health care as we collectively work to protect the environment, minimize environmental hazards and reduce our contribution to the problem of climate change. As a ministry, we care for those who are harmed by the environment, strive for internal practices to ensure environmental safety and advocate public policies and private actions that bring solutions. Find all of CHA’s environmental resources at www.chausa.org/Environment.