June 20, 2009
GREEN FATHER’S DAY
Celeb dad Albert Martinez on why greening health care is the best gift
Manila - On Father’s Day, Celebrity dad Albert Martinez gives reasons why he is supporting environmental health non-government organization, Health Care Without Harm-Southeast Asia (HCWH-SEA) and why pushing for a greener health care is one of the best gifts a dad can give to his children.
“It is Father’s Day, the norm usually is for my son and daughters to buy me a present. But I instead opted to be the gift-giver,” said Martinez, one of highly-acclaimed actors in the Philippines.
Martinez is the 2nd artiste to show support to international group, HCWH-SEA. The 1st one is VJ Juddha Paolo who joined the group in several forums on environmental health and starred in Make the Switch and First, Do No Harm video campaigns which was launched at the University of the Philippines-Diliman in December.
“I share HCWH-SEA’s motto, First, Do No Harm. In this day and age when everything we consume seems to bring our planet closer to death, I, as a dad, would do everything I can to preserve this world as I remember it when I was a kid.
“Sadly and surprisingly, some of the things that are used in health care settings or hospitals instead threaten public health and the environment. Take mercury thermometers, not many people know the danger a thermometer breakage may bring,” said Martinez.
“When our kids are sick, we bring them right away to hospitals thinking it is the safest place for them. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. The chemicals used in a hospital and the not-so good practices there may be adding more harm to our children,” he added.
“I am not saying however that we should shun from visiting our doctors. What I am saying is for us to choose a greener hospital. And if we don’t find one in our area, let’s encourage our local hospitals to take steps towards becoming green.”
Albert’s Green Hospitals
On a random thought, a green hospital is
- Mercury-free or on its way towards it.
- Practices proper waste segregation.
- Recycle. Reduce. Reuse.
- Reduces carbon footprint thru simple steps like turning off lights that are not in use.
- Promotes healthy lifestyle.
Green Father’s Day
On Father’s Day, celeb dad Albert encourages all dads to give back to the planet.
On this day, he will probably be tending his garden (a favorite pastime) with his family, checking out green places to go to including looking for green hospitals in cases of emergency and most of all, enjoying the bounties of what is left of our green world.
HCWH is an international coalition of more than 470 organizations in 52 countries, working to transform the health care sector worldwide, without compromising patient safety or care, so that it is ecologically sustainable and no longer a source of harm to public health and the environment. For more information on HCWH-SEA, see www.noharm.org.
(See attached photo)
Contact:
Sonia G. Astudillo, Communications Officer, +63 918 9182369, sonia@hcwh.org
Merci Ferrer, Executive Director, +63 9209056113, merci@hcwh.org
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