Health systems are recognizing sustainability as central to their mission, a fact reflected in the design, construction and operations of health facilities, according to an article on the Health Facilities Management website.

 “We’re trying to change the way folks look at our healthcare system and facilities,” Paul Stein, chief operating officer, MaineGeneral Health, Augusta, said in the article.

Sustainable features reinforce the message that health facilities are places to be well and become educated about health, rather than just a place to come when you're sick, he said.

Sustainable designs and operations increase human health, productivity and safety, according to Barbara Hamilton, LEED Green associate, sustainability manager, Palomar Health, Escondido, Calif. Since the health system opened the Palomar Medical Center — designed as a pilot project for the Green Guide for Health Care — “patient satisfaction scores have gone up dramatically,” she said. 

Read the article.