According to a blog by architect Corie Baker on the Gresham Smith and Partners website, the fact that healthcare facilities use twice as much energy as typical buildings, and are one of the largest municipal water and sewer customers should be viewed as an opportunity to make a significant environmental impact.
"In an industry with such vast impact, even small green design decisions can make a big difference, and larger measures, such as pursuing LEED certification, can instigate truly remarkable change," Baker wrote.
The LEED for Healthcare (LEED HC) Rating Systems, developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and the Green Guide for Healthcare, address specific challenges for medical buildings. Implemented in 2009, the LEED HC certification has only recently seen its first LEED HC certified facility in May of 2013.
As designers and engineers look to repeat that feat, it is useful to examine the most valued approaches, the blog said.
LEED HC regulations are aligned with the LEED for New Construction (LEED NC) organizational structure, but include credit adjustments and additional credits specific to medical facilities. Like LEED NC, projects seeking LEED HC certification can achieve as many as 100 points in seven categories: Sustainable Sites, Water Efficiency, Energy & Atmosphere, Materials & Resources, Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ), Innovation & Design (ID), and Regional Priority. However, with more credits added, LEED HC offers fewer points per credit, meaning that healthcare facilities seeking LEED certification must achieve more individual credits to reach certification levels.
Read the blog.
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