Be Green
The Maryland Rural Health Association (MRHA) has adopted a “green” philosophy and is going green. The green campaign acknowledges our support for individuals, businesses, and workplace practices that positively impact environmental sustainability, a changing climate, and good community/ public health. Many employers and employees are moving to reduce their environmental impact by installing recycling bins, by constructing entirely green buildings or wings, and adopting measures to save energy, conserve water sources, and reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. We applaud these efforts and want to serve as a vehicle for encouraging and promoting green technology throughout rural Maryland. That’s why at the 2007 Rural Summit the MRHA gave away Honey Crisp apples grown here in Maryland by a farmer in Hartford County! This is a simple green effort in lieu of giving plastic giveaways normally given at conference exhibits.
Another simple green effort we have adopted is to make your membership renewal simple and green by offering you the opportunity to renew or join the MRHA on line. By offering membership payment on line via Pay Pal, we are saving you time and energy in completing a paper membership form and mailing it to us. While we absorb some costs in using Pay Pal, we know that this is a secure (encrypted) system that cuts down on mailing costs and time involved. We hope that this new system of membership renewal or for first-time members serves you well.
In addition, the MRHA would like to encourage all Maryland health providers to adopt a green philosophy. Here are a few things you can do to help save our planet:
1. Educate yourself, your family, your neighbors, and your co-workers about how climate change is severely affecting our health and well being. Link to the American Public Health Association’s National Public Health Week site for more information: http://www.nphw.blogspot.com/
2. Practice green health in your facility or workplace. Link to http://h2e-online.org/ which the state of Maryland and many of its hospitals and health facilities have joined. This site will give you hundreds of green tips from reducing mercury to composting and green cleaning. The Maryland H2E site is: http://www.mdh2e.org . This link will give you a wealth of information on what’s happening here in Maryland and links to Hazardous Waste Regulations in Maryland, Regulated Medical Waste Regulations in Maryland, and Universal Waste Regulations in Maryland. Another useful link for hospitals and health facilities and hazardous waste can be found at the Healthcare Environmental Resource Center, http://www.hercenter.org/
3. Develop a green team at your site and partner with others in your community that are concerned about the public’s health and policies and programs on climate change. Link to either http://h2e-online.org/ or http://www.mdh2e.org for more information on how to do this.
4. Watch for more green tips for health care providers and facilities in the future.
