Healthy Hospitals for Healthy

Healing
Dr. Sukhmani Mann
Visiting Faculty,
University Institute of Applied Management Sciences,
Chandigarh
Nascent stage in India.
• The seven elements of the initiative :
– Food at the hospital
– Water use at the hospital
– Waste at the the hospital
– Alternate Energy at the hospital
– Green Building Design at the hospital
– Energy Efficiency at the hospital
– Transportation in and around the hospital
 NEW ESTABLISHMENT
• Choice of site: Environmental friendly.
• Sustainable & Efficient building design.
• Proficient use of Energy/Water.
• Evaluation.
• Air Quality.
• Waste management.
• Using Green Materials.
• Keeping Green.
 EXISTING ESTABLISHMENT
• System thinking and conviction.
• Green Team.
• Carpools/ bikeways.
• Sky lighting, use of solar energy, insulation and up
gradation to Non-HCFC refrigeration/ air-con system.
• Onsite water management.
• Reusing discarded linen for shoe covers etc.
• Enhanced HIS for paperless running.
• Encouraging & rewarding Green Thinking and
implementation.
 Advantages
• Tangible benefits.
– Sustainable building materials
– Products free of mercury, latex, PVC, and DEHP
– Energy and water conservation
– Tools and resources for environmentally preferable purchasing
– Greener cleaners
– Integrated pest management
– Waste Reduction and Recycling
– Green Electronics
– Environmentally Preferable Medical Waste Treatment and Disposal
– Safer alternatives to PBDEs: products in health care settings
– Nutritious, Sustainable Foods and Food Systems
– Shorter hospital patient stays.
• Intangible benefits
– Holistic healing.
– Teamwork and productivity enhancement for the staff.
 Pitfalls
• Expensive concept to execute.
• No overnight results.
• Requires both Top-down and Bottom-up
integration for success.
 Conclusion
• Must do. Can’t wish it away.
• Long-term benefits- immense.
• Focus on Green hospitals is important because
– disease has an indispensible association with
environment.
– Hospitals are large generators of environmental
hazardous waste.
 References
• www.igbc.in
• Northumberland Health Care Corporation,
Elizabeth J. Vosburgh, Director of Human
Resources and Risk Management, July 2001