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Green hospital tips
From TipThePlanet
- Potentially harmful chemicals and gases in hospitals
- Invest in research and demonstration projects to evaluate, make recommendations and implement policies and procedures to enhance the therapeutic qualities of healthcare facilities, and minimize material- and labor-intensive remodeling and renovation practices.
- See an implementation guide for health care facilities - The imperative for green health care facilities for short-term and long-range actions for greener healthcare
- Eliminate, when possible, toxic chemicals and replace them with products containing natural or naturally-derived products. For more information on how to replace mercury see Eliminating Mercury in Hospitals. Organize mercury thermometer exchange programs.
- Inform hospital staff about government warnings about DEHP-containing medical devices. Recommend a speaker, present information to committee meetings, or share case studies of other hospitals that are going DEHP-free.
- Make cabinets with wheatboard instead of particle-board. Eliminate PVC from both medical devices and building products. PVC free products, in both traditional and new material formulations, are available for the entire range of building applications from carpet and flooring products to wall coverings, roof membranes, furniture and pipes, as well as toys.
- Use rubber rather than vinyl for flooring. Instead of fiberglass to insulate the walls, use recycled cotton denim. Whenever possible, recycle left-over building materials that would normally be discarded.
- Establish a pollution prevention programs to reduce the use of hazardous materials (e.g., solvents, disinfectants) in laboratories, clinical areas, and building maintenance;
- Use your purchasing power to influence manufacturers to provide more environmentally preferable product choices for health care;
- For an example see "Maine Hospitals For A Healthy Environment", working as part of a partnership of state and federal agencies, who have spent more than a year developing a comprehensive plan aimed at helping hospitals take a leadership role in improving our environment and reducing the overall volume of hospital waste by 50 percent by the year 2010.
