Abstract
Global warming is real, and the healthcare industry is both a contributor and a victim. Also, physical setting and, in particular, sustainable design practices can support patient recovery during hospitalization. In the context of this paper, focus areas for design of green healthcare structures have been explored in detail. Herein, we are laying focus on understanding architecturally justified approaches of interior lighting in a healthcare setting. This paper also discusses design strategies to improve indoor air quality in hospitals and the current international research to improve indoor air quality are reported. Other focus areas like greenhouse keeping, use of green interior materials and landscaping are discussed. Data for the review was extracted from published books and diverse online sources with the help of the Google search engine. It was found that healthcare structures, being resource intensive establishments, consume vast amounts of energy, water, and construction materials to provide high quality care. It was also found that healthcare institutions, by adopting sustainable measures are capable of reducing their environmental footprint to a bigger extent, boost the wellbeing of healthcare staff and aid patient recovery.
Highlights
A green hospital is one that aims to be environment friendly, utilizes renewable resources, reduces waste by implementing green practices and enhances patient well-being
Design of healthcare structures taking into consideration green standards comes with a myriad of benefits which include but not limited to: Faster patient recovery time thereby reducing the length of stay in the hospital, Eliminate Sick Building Syndrome (SBS) for both patients and staff, Reduce stress levels in hospital workers, which further improves quality of care, Optimum energy and water consumption means reduction in cost of operation, Employees are motivated and improve their quality of work and overall hospital performance, Reduction in operation cost by optimum consumption of power and water
2 Focus areas in design of healthcare structures In Architectural Planning & Design of Green Hospitals, an overarching consideration is to ensure that the floor plate facilitates efficiency
Summary
A green hospital is one that aims to be environment friendly, utilizes renewable resources, reduces waste by implementing green practices and enhances patient well-being. These are some of the important aspects that need to be considered by the hospital designing and planning companies anywhere in the world to ensure reduced or no harm to biodiversity. Design of healthcare structures taking into consideration green standards comes with a myriad of benefits which include but not limited to: Faster patient recovery time thereby reducing the length of stay in the hospital, Eliminate Sick Building Syndrome (SBS) for both patients and staff, Reduce stress levels in hospital workers, which further improves quality of care, Optimum energy and water consumption means reduction in cost of operation, Employees are motivated and improve their quality of work and overall hospital performance, Reduction in operation cost by optimum consumption of power and water
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