Searching for a Sustainable Solution for Healthcare Facilities

In October 2006, the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) reported that the products and services market for green building exceeds $7 billion, representing 37 percent growth over one year. There are now more than 5,000 LEED®-registered or -certified projects in all 50 states and 12 countries, from multi-use and commercial office to industrial and laboratory facilities. While a diverse cross section of the industry is seeing the value and converting to green, there is one area that is, to this point, underserved in sustainable options. Of the 774 million sq. ft. of commercial building space registered or certified, healthcare facilities make up only 2.5 percent of LEED-NC (New Construction & Major Renovations) buildings. “The healthcare industry, with strict standards and precise needs, doesn’t fit well within any of the current USGBC Rating Systems, in part due to the structural, usage type and regulatory challenges, as well as an operational focus to the design process,“said Ted van der Linden of DPR. “Critical materials used in healthcare facilities like PVC are in direct conflict with environmental standards.”

To determine a viable green solution for healthcare, several groups, including the Green Guide for Health Care (GGHC) and the USGBC, are developing guidelines to help green healthcare facilities in a safe and effective way.

The GGHC has created an outline, now in its fourth iteration, based on the widely used LEED rating system, to determine potential ways to make healthcare facilities sustainable. According to the GGHC, the purpose of the guidelines are that they become educational tools that will neither define nor limit the green opportunities for healthcare facilities, but will serve as a basis for new solutions and spur further growth of sustainability as it relates to healthcare. An honor-based system, the GGHC’s pilot program prompted over 100 healthcare projects to partake, providing evidence that the healthcare industry is looking for sustainable options.

Likewise, the USGBC is also looking to create a new certification template for healthcare facilities that will roll out this year. In the spirit of commitment to sustainability, DPR’s Jason Choyce is currently part of a 13-member team developing the LEED Application Guide for Healthcare (AGH) and determining how it will work and be implemented. Using lessons learned from the projects registered under the GGHC pilot program as a beta test, the LEED AGH team was able to find credits that were not often sought and determine their achievability and common sense for the healthcare community.

“The USGBC’s core purpose is to, ‘transform the way buildings and communities are designed, built and operated, enabling an environmentally and socially responsible, healthy and prosperous environment that improves the quality of life,’ so it is no wonder that the healthcare industry is looking for a green option,” said Choyce. “Creating a healthier space is an intrinsic value of the healthcare system, which is well supported by the elimination of toxins, utilization of natural sunlight and the retention of quality staff to improve patient health.”
Although healthcare facilities may not be able to obtain credits for using gray water from rainwater collection due to infection control standards, other eco-friendly choices, such as using low VOC finishes and optimizing daylighting, are not only reasonable, but beneficial to the hospital environment. Choyce commented, “Once a comprehensive sustainable model is developed for healthcare, it will potentially become the cornerstone of all hospital design.”