Partnering With the Massachusetts Hospital Association and Health Care Without Harm, These Hospitals Are Forging New Paths for Prevention-Based Healthcare

/EINPresswire.com/ -- BOSTON, MA --(Marketwired - March 08, 2016) - Twenty-nine member hospitals from across the state have signed the Massachusetts Hospital Association's (MHA) Antibiotic Stewardship Commitment in collaboration with Health Care Without Harm (HCWH), agreeing to purchase and serve at least one meat item that is raised without routine antibiotics within their food services menu offerings. By doing so, these hospitals leverage their purchasing dollars to stimulate broader market shifts, connect their food service operations more closely with their clinical priorities, and improve the overall health of their workers, patients, and community.

"Hospitals have always collaborated with the communities they serve to promote a healthier future for their patients, staff, and residents. In particular, Massachusetts hospitals have focused many of their community benefits programs and other initiatives to prioritize health prevention education," said MHA President and CEO Lynn Nicholas. "This effort will serve as a strong platform to develop specific statewide goals that appropriately tie our clinical expertise with community health prevention goals."

This commitment comes at a time when the Centers for Disease Control has deemed rising rates of antibiotic resistance to be the "most pressing public health concern of our time" and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has mandated that all nursing homes institute antibiotic stewardship programs.

"Massachusetts has long been a leader in healthcare innovation and the commitment by these hospitals continues that tradition serving as a model of leadership in aligning all aspects of healthcare with public health," said Stacia Clinton, National Director for HCWH's Healthy Food in Health Care program.

Massachusetts hospitals that have signed the Antibiotic Stewardship Commitment to date are:

-Athol Hospital                         -Fairview Hospital                            
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-Baystate Franklin Medical Center       -Heywood Hospital                             
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-Baystate Mary Lane Hospital            -Holyoke Medical Center                       
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-Baystate Medical Center                -Mercy Medical Center                         
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-Baystate Noble Hospital                -Milford-Regional Medical Center              
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-Baystate Wing Hospital                 -North Shore Medical Center                   
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-Berkshire Medical Center               -Providence Behavioral Health Hospital        
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-Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital-Plymouth-Signature Healthcare Brockton Hospital       
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-Boston Children's Hospital             -Southcoast Health                            
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-Boston Medical Center                  -Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital            
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-Brigham & Women's                      -Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital - Cape Cod 
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-Brigham & Women's Faulkner             -Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital - Cambridge
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-Cambridge Health Alliance              -Umass Memorial Medical Center                
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-Cooley Dickinson Hospital              -Winchester Hospital                          
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-Emerson Hospital                                                                     
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Some 80% of all antibiotics sold in the United States are used in animal agriculture, and the link between this use and the emergence of antibiotic resistant infections is clear. National policies to restrict antibiotic use in animals raised for meat have been slow to take hold, but public concern has led some national retailers to take voluntary action.

While this is an exciting first step, the 29 Massachusetts healthcare facilities that have signed on to the MHA Antibiotic Stewardship Commitment are pursuing a bolder path to encourage production without the use of any routine sub-therapeutic antibiotics, reserving their use for human health and diagnosed sickness in animal production.

As part of its ongoing commitment to this project, MHA has provided ongoing support to their member facilities through a partnership with HCWH. MHA's activities included:

• Co-Hosting a Farm to Health Care Summit with keynote from Representative Louise Slaughter's office, a sponsor of the Preservation of Antibiotic for Medical Treatment Act (PAMTA)
• Co-Hosting a Local Meat Workshop bringing together national institutional distributors, food service management companies, select producers and spurring the development of a local meat purchasing project to stimulate growth of meat raised without routine antibiotics locally.
• Promoting educational webinars for administrators, clinicians, and food service operators featuring leaders in this effort from throughout the country
• Promoting the HCWH Food Day activity where 32 MA hospitals served 1,260 pounds of meat and poultry raised without routine antibiotics with two facilities reporting sourcing from local farms.

"MHA applauds the leadership of these 29 hospitals in their pursuit of healthier food options for patients, employees, and members of the community," Nicholas said. "We look forward to continued efforts to ensure that non-therapeutic antibiotics are even further reduced from our healthcare facilities' food supply."

The MHA Antibiotic Stewardship Commitment is also generating movement among institutional suppliers. Several businesses including Unidine, Compass Group, Sysco Boston, and US Foods offered statements outlining their support and progress in prioritizing meat raised without routine antibiotics.

About Massachusetts Hospital Association
The Massachusetts Hospital Association is a voluntary, not-for-profit organization comprised of hospitals and health systems, related organizations, and other members with a common interest in promoting the good health of the people of the Commonwealth. http://www.mhalink.org

About Health Care Without Harm
Health Care Without Harm seeks 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. www.noharm.org

Contact:
Catherine Bromberg
Senior Director, External Communications
Massachusetts Hospital Association
781-262-6027
cbromberg@mhalink.org

Benn Grover
Director of Communications
Health Care Without Harm
888-461-0112
bgrover@hcwh.org

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