The Charlotte Brody Award was created in honor of a lifelong advocate for social change. Charlotte Brody, a registered nurse and activist, has spent her life making the world a safer place for people around the globe. She is one of the founders of Health Care Without Harm (HCWH), an international coalition working to make health care more environmentally responsible and sustainable. HCWH has launched campaigns to rid hospitals of mercury thermometers and toxics-leaching IV bags and encouraged hospitals to buy ecologically sound medical supplies, cleaners, building materials and organic food.

Charlotte Brody’s years of organizing experience and public health background converged in her groundbreaking work within health care to reduce the sector’s reliance on hazardous materials and practices, and there’s little doubt that she is making a difference as she works to lighten our collective body burden of toxic chemicals. For her, it's about reaching ever further to make a difference, visioning the possible and strategically leveraging opportunities to create lasting change. As Charlotte Brody puts it, "I just want to be part of a global community that keeps learning how to keep making bigger, smarter transformational change."

The Luminary Project, an initiative of Health Care Without Harm and its Nurses Work Group, was launched in 2005 to shine the light on nurses who are working to improve our health and the environment. This web-based initiative was born of Charlotte Brody’s desire to tell the stories of nurses, who are creatively, strategically, and courageously addressing environmental problems and illuminating the way toward safe hospitals, communities with clean air, land and water, and children born without toxic chemicals in their bodies. Created in 2006, the Charlotte Brody Award honors the leadership, commitment, and vision of nurses who are creating a healthier world and inspiring others to do the same. Previous awardees include Charlotte Brody herself, Barbara Sattler, DrPH, RN, FAAN and Laura Anderko, PhD, RN.


Award Presentation
The Luminary Project seeks to honor, increase awareness about, and stimulate activity around nurses’ efforts to light the way to a healthier environment. The Charlotte Brody Award recognizes the outstanding commitment and achievements of a Nurse Luminary who has shared his or her story with The Luminary Project so that other nurses might be inspired to further accomplishments.

The beautiful award made of recycled glass is presented each year at the CleanMed conference. The 2010 Charlotte Brody Award will be presented at CleanMed 2010 to be held in Baltimore, MD.

Criteria
This award will be given to a Nurse Luminary (RN or LPN/LVN) whose story of environmental activism and accomplishment reflects a significant contribution to environmental health. Nominees will exemplify the characteristics and principles for which Charlotte Brody stands. These should include some of the following characteristics:
    • Demonstration of a commitment to change on behalf of people, their health, and the environment.
    • Active incorporation of environmental health principles in professional practice, including when possible direct patient care, education, research, and advocacy.
    • Demonstration of leadership in improving environmental health practices and policies in the workplace, communities, professional associations, government agencies, academic institutions, or other domains where people’s health is affected by environmental conditions.
    • Engagement in research endeavors that build knowledge, bridge the gap between health and the environment, and/or facilitate the application of findings in direct nursing care and health care.
    • Conduction of public education that raises awareness, informs and engages people in efforts to reduce environmental hazards and exposures, and promotes healthy environmental decision-making.
    • Development of nursing education programs that actively integrate environmental health knowledge and skills into undergraduate and graduate level nursing curricula and/or continuing education courses.
    • Work toward effective environmental health change in nursing practice through direct care with patients and/or through population-focused care.
    • Contribution to the development of public policy that protects environmental health.
    • Facilitation of changes in organizational policies that protect and promote environmental health.
    • Increasing the visibility of nurses and their important and effective role in environmental health improvement.
    • Authoring of articles or publications that communicate environmental health matters to the public, nurses and other health care professionals, as well as disciplines and sectors related to environmental health.

Nominations
This award seeks to recognize Nurse Luminaries who go beyond everyday nursing endeavors to proactively promote and protect environmental health, and who generate significant outcomes from their efforts. Potential awardees may be nominated by a colleague or member of the public, or may be self-nominated.
Nomination procedures include the following:
    1. Completion of the official on-line nomination form
    2. Submission of the nomination to info@hcwh.org by 5 PM on March 8, 2010 (Time sensitive)
    2. At least two letters of recommendation, with one of these letters written by a registered professional nurse

Selection of Award Recipient
The steering committee of The Luminary Project, known as Guiding Lights, will review applications and select the award recipient based on the stated criteria. This decision will be based on the information included in the completed nomination form and supporting documents. Therefore, it is helpful to include as much information about the candidate and his/her achievements as possible.

Notification of Award
The award recipient will be notified in March 2010 and presented with the Charlotte Brody Award at the CleanMed 2010 Conference of Health Care Without Harm.  The awardee will receive a complimentary CleanMed registration.