To green or not to green? That is the question

Considering the state of healthcare in the country today, is it appropriate to expend monies on creating sustainable healing environments? Is it prudent to utilize resources on these projects to make them green? Conversely, would building healthcare institutions without the tenets of green building be a disservice to those who will be treated in such a building and to those who are treating them? There exists no building type better suited to sustainable design and construction than that of healthcare. These facilities are operated 24 hours a day 7 days a week, and house folks who often have compromised immune systems. The staff often operates in these facilities for extended periods of time well beyond the 8 hours days that "normal" office building employees work. Further, like no other building type, hospitals are cleaned and maintained during normal business hours. This fact alone adds significantly to the environmental burden of the inhabitants of these buildings. Designing, constructing and operating hospitals in a sustainable manner provides better patient outcomes, lower usage of pain medications and reduced length of stay for patients. For staff, it increases productivity, staff retention and helps with recruiting efforts. As an added bonus, energy usage is generally reduced while maintaining ventilation rates at or in excess of code. Considering hospitals are second only to food service in their use of energy, significant monetary saving are possible. Maybe the question should be not whether hospitals should be green, the better question is should they be green, silver, gold or platinum? Neil Rosen, AIA, LEED AP BD & C, is project director for North Shore LIJ Health System, Manhasset, N.Y.