Find A Green Hospital

You've probably noticed that many hospitals, especially newer ones, are moving away from the sterile, white walled, functional environments to warmer, inviting spaces that incorporate more color, natural light, comfortable furniture and elements of nature. The idea is to promote healing and general health by better addressing the patient's physical, emotional and mental needs.

What's even more exciting is that over the last several years, in tandem with the much-needed upgrade in aesthetics, there is a green movement afoot in the health care industry. Granted, it's small right now but a growing number of hospitals are doing things such as eliminating mercury from their buildings, buying locally grown produce and becoming more efficient at recycling.

For example, Kaiser Permanente in California is doing all of the above and setting the bar high for others by going green in a big way. The health system is planning a hospital building spree close to $24 billion over the next several years. As part of its plans, Kaiser has announced that 30 million square feet of new construction will come from "ecologically sustainable materials." That's a lot of construction!

Why should you care? Well, like many other industries, hospitals have played host to environmental toxins like mercury, as well as cleaning products and building materials that release into the air volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which essentially are gases that contain chemicals. According to the EPA, VOCs can cause numerous health problems, including kidney and central nervous system damage. Many hospitals still use polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastics, another area for concern because they are believed to cause serious health problems to humans.

Isn't it common sense that hospitals should try to remove such toxins from their buildings. After all, many patients are already in a compromised immune state.

Check with your local hospital and see if they are doing the following: