Greening health sector facilities - health facilities as a catalyst and model for healthier energy policies and healthier communities

Health care facilities are anchor institutions in the communities that they serve. Climate-friendly and energy-efficient health care facilities can save resources in an era of soaring health care costs as well as improving health services. This presentation is based on a recent WHO assessment of how health facilities can adopt climate change mitigation measures that also achieve: a) health resource savings, b) reductions in diseases or environmental health risks and c) greater health equity. Mitigation measures considered are from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Fourth Assessment Report (IPCC, 2007). The presentation also discusses case studies in building and retrofitting greener health care facilities in the USA and developing countries. Among those, on-site co-generation of heat and power (CHP), including use and storage of renewable energy sources, is being implemented by health care facilities to improve efficiency and performance. Better use of natural ventilation is also discussed as a strategy that can help save energy and can reduce infectious disease transmission, with reference to a WHO systematic review "Natural Ventilation for Infection Control in Health Care Settings (WHO, 2009). Other aspects of greener health care facilities are covered with reference to how they may improve community health, e.g. improved management of health care waste and sensitive procurement practices. With regards to the latter, a number of US-based studies have shown that health care workers suffer from asthma at rates higher than the norms. More sensitive and judicious use of abrasive chemicals, along with better use of ventilation measures, can help address this burden.