As dawn broke over San Antonio this morning, the serene silence was shattered by the roar of flaring from a nearby petroleum facility. This facility, merely blocks away from my medical school, UIW School of Osteopathic Medicine, stands in contrast to the mission of healing and health promotion championed within my medical schools walls. The sound from the flaring, akin to a jet engine, is not just a disruptive auditory occurrence but a harbinger of deeper environmental and health concerns that resonate through the community — one of the poorest in San Antonio, as characterized by the Texas Department of Health & Human Services. Moreover, this community is burdened with one of the highest cancer rates in Texas, a statistic that is hard to overlook as a mere coincidence.
The process of flaring, while a safety measure, emits a cocktail of pollutants, including volatile organic compounds (VOCs), sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and methane. The proximity of this facility to the San Antonio River raises grave concerns about potential runoff and the impact on aquatic ecosystems, which can affect water quality and biodiversity. It is not just the river that suffers but the very soil on which children play, and families build their lives—a soil that may carry the remnants of these pollutants.
This intersection of industry, health, and environment near my medical school where future osteopathic physicians are trained should provoke a profound reconsideration of the osteopathic philosophy. Osteopathic medicine has long recognized the interdependence of body, mind, and spirit. It is high time that this interdependence is extended to include the environment in which individuals are born, live, and pass away. The principles of osteopathy emphasize the body's ability to self-heal and self-regulate, but this natural capacity is compromised when the environment is laden with toxins.
Osteopathic medical students are taught to treat the patient, not the disease. Yet, when the environment itself contributes to disease, our approach must evolve. Environmental health needs to become a fundamental pillar of osteopathic medical education, encouraging students to consider the external factors influencing their patients' health. This approach aligns with the growing understanding of social determinants of health and their impact on patient outcomes.
To address this multidimensional challenge, I propose the adoption of a new osteopathic tenet: "Recognize the environment as a partner in health." This tenant would promote awareness and advocacy for environmental health as a component of holistic patient care. It would encourage future osteopathic physicians to consider how climate change and environmental degradation contribute to health disparities and to advocate for sustainable practices and policies.
Osteopathic medicine, with its holistic approach, is uniquely positioned to lead this charge. It has the potential to redefine the health narrative by including environmental stewardship as a component of compassionate patient care. As osteopathic physicians and educators, we must champion this cause, integrating environmental health into our curricula, research, and community engagement efforts.
The time for action is now. The roar of flaring at dawn should not be the legacy we leave but rather the alarm that awakens us to the urgency of protecting the health of our patients and our planet. It is our duty to respond, not only with concern but with a steadfast commitment to fostering environments that promote—not endanger—human health and well-being.
