How to Make a Hospital More Eco-Friendly
Hospitals are large buildings filled with complex machinery and electronics, and at any one time will have over a thousand people in them. They aren’t exactly the most eco-friendly of buildings and so if you run a hospital or are in charge of things like this, then here are some ways you can reduce your hospital’s carbon footprint - and maybe even save money.
The Green X-Men
Instead of trying to convert the whole hospital into a green wonder machine, why not hire a few select people to head up a green team. They can then take charge of the initiatives and come up with fresh solutions for your hospital. They can then oversee all of these changes to make sure they are being followed and aren't negatively affecting the hospital.
Recycling and Document Destruction
Recycling is one of the easiest ways to help protect the environment and with the amount of paper lying around hospitals, it' even more important. All that paper can be recycled and reused saving thousands of trees a year. It's also doubly important that hospitals securely shred and recycle their documents as many of them will contain sensitive patient information.
Printing
The way these documents are created is also a blight on the environment. Bring in policies on paper printing to stop unnecessary and over printing. Another issue is that all of these devices like printers, faxes, copiers, etc all waste a lot of energy and nowadays you can buy one device that handles all of it, so there's no need to have lots of them, just have the one and you'll help the planet and save money on electricity.
Reprocessing
It's vitally important for hospitals to maintain sterile environments, but this can also mean that many surgical tools and gowns are disposed of after a single use (some aren't even used), which is important, however there is an alternative. If you have a dedicated resource put aside to reprocess and reserialize in a safe environment, you can save the hospital thousands, if not millions of dollars.
LEED
LEED stands for 'Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design'. Becoming LEED certified means the following four things:
- It will help lower you operating costs.
- It will help to conserve energy and other resources like water.
- Makes the hospitals environment healthier for patients and staff.
- There is also potential to become eligible for tax rebates etc.
One of LEEDs main emphases is on the healing power of nature due to the many studies that show a direct correlation with people's health and their relationship with nature.
A lot of hospitals put a lot of money into getting their nurses and doctors better qualified, with public health degrees online and extra qualifications and programs, however one of the best ways to save money fast is to become more ecofriendly. The money side of it should be the second most important aspect to you. Knowing that your hospital is an institution that is committed to the continued survival of the planet, should be all the reward you need to start.