Excerpt

Green health care—the incorporation of environmentally friendly practices into healthcare delivery—appeals to health professionals and institutions for many reasons. It offers the potential to safeguard the environment, an increasingly compelling challenge. It allows healthcare institutions to demonstrate leadership in their communities. It can be a platform for educating students and members of the public. It can save money. Each of these rationales was acknowledged at the workshop on green health care held by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) Roundtable on Environmental Health Sciences, Research, and Medicine on January 10–11, 2006. However, for health professionals like those represented at the workshop, green health care is likely to be most compelling because of its potential to protect and promote health, both directly and indirectly.

Contents

• The National Academies
• Roundtable on Environmental Health Sciences, Research, and Medicine
• Reviewers
• Preface
• 1. Introduction
  • WHAT IS GREEN HEALTH CARE?
  • WHY PURSUE GREEN HEALTH CARE?
  • WHAT IS THE EVIDENCE SUPPORTING GREEN HEALTH CARE AND WHAT FURTHER EVIDENCE IS NEEDED?
  • HOW IS GREEN HEALTH CARE IMPLEMENTED?
• 2. Sustainable Healthcare Facilities
  • GREEN BUILDING AND HEALTH AGENDAS: POINTS OF CONVERGENCE
  • HIGH-PERFORMANCE HEALING ENVIRONMENTS
  • BUILDING GREEN AND INTEGRATING NATURE: RIKSHOSPITALET UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL IN OSLO
• 3. Economics, Ethics, and Employment
  • GREEN BUILDING: ECONOMICS
  • ETHICS OF GREEN BUILDINGS
  • INCREASING WORKPLACE PRODUCTIVITY
• 4. The Health Aspects of Green Buildings
  • HEALTH IN BUILDINGS: INDOOR AIR QUALITY
  • SUSTAINABILITY, HEALTH CARE, AND PATIENT WELLNESS
  • DESIGN RESEARCH AND THE BUSINESS CASE FOR A BETTER 21ST CENTURY HOSPITAL
• 5. The Process of Change
  • UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA
  • EMORY UNIVERSITY
• 6. Champions for Change
  • CREATING A COMPREHENSIVE GREEN HEALTHCARE SYSTEM
  • BUILDING GREEN ON A LARGE SCALE
• 7. General Workshop Discussion
  • WHAT IS GREEN BUILDING?
  • ADVANCING GREEN BUILDING RESEARCH
  • TRANSLATION OF RESEARCH INTO PRACTICE
  • ADDRESSING GAPS IN KNOWLEDGE
  • ECONOMICS
  • COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP
• Presentation Abstracts
  • THE CONFLICT BETWEEN GROWTH AND GOING GREEN: THE EXPERIENCE AT EMORY
  • FRAMING THE PROCESS: INSTITUTIONAL CHANGE TO GREENING A CAMPUS: SUSTAINABLE CONSTRUCTION AND BUILT ENVIRONMENT AT THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA
  • BUILDING GREEN AND INTEGRATING NATURE: RIKSHOSPITALET UNIVERSITY, OSLO, CASE STUDY
  • THE CASE FOR GREEN BUILDINGS II: HEALTH DESIGN PRINCIPLES IN HEALTHY BUILDING
  • SUSTAINABILITY, HEALTHCARE DESIGN, AND PATIENT OUTCOMES
  • THE GREEN GUIDE FOR HEALTH CARE: A TOOL FOR HIGH-PERFORMANCE HEALING ENVIRONMENTS
  • REVIEW OF GREEN AND HEALTHY SCHOOLS: COSTS, BENEFITS, AND IMPLICATIONS
  • IMPLEMENTING THE DECISION TO BUILD GREEN IN UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTERS
  • THE COMPELLING BUSINESS CASE FOR BETTER HOSPITAL BUILDING
  • BUILDING-RELATED HEALTH EFFECTS: WHAT DO WE KNOW?
  • BUILDING GREEN ON A LARGE SCALE
• References
• Appendixes
  • Appendix A Workshop Agenda
  • Appendix B Speakers and Panelists
  • Appendix C Workshop Participants

Rapporteurs: Howard Frumkin and Christine Coussens

This study was supported by contracts between the National Academy of Sciences and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health (Contract N01-OD-4-2193, TO#43); National Center for Environmental Health and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Contract No. 200-2000-00629, TO#7); National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Contract 0000166930); National Health and Environment Effects Research Laboratory and the National Center for Environmental Research, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (Contract 282-99-0045, TO#5); American Chemistry Council (unnumbered grant); ExxonMobil Corporation (unnumbered grant); and Institute of Public Health and Water Research (unnumbered grant).

Suggested citation:

Institute of Medicine (IOM). 2007. Green healthcare institutions; Health, environment, and economics (Workshop summary). Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.

The views presented in this book are those of the individual presenters and are not necessarily those of the funding agencies or the Institute of Medicine.

NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.