In Hospitals
- Support efforts to find healthy alternatives to polyvinyl chloride, or PVC, in health care settings. PVC, the most widely used plastic in medical devices, can be harmful to patients, the environment, and public health. PVC is commonly used to make examination gloves, intravenous bags, and intravenous tubing; it is also commonly used for wall covering, flooring, ceilings, and upholstery fabric in health care settings. Di-ethylhexyl-phthalate (DEHP), a hazard to human development and fertility, is the plasticizer most often added to PVC medical devices to make them soft and flexible. Patients are exposed to DEHP when it leaches out of PVC medical devices such as intravenous bags and tubing, feeding tubes, and blood bags. For more information, visit the websites of Health Care Without Harm and Sustainable Hospitals.
- Learn about the role hospitals and other health care settings can play in ensuring environmental sustainability in health care. For more information, visit the Hospitals for a Healthy Environment website.