By Healthcare Facilities Today

The business environment for sustainability in healthcare is rapidly changing, according to an article on the Healthcare Design magazine website. The Affordable Care Act and reductions in Medicare reimbursements are pressuring hospital CEOs to reduce operating costs and overhead. They are often turning to green initiatives to ease the burden. 

This push is causing healthcare design professionals to adjust their approach to sustainability. Once an additional service, design firms now need to have extensive sustainability expertise even to be considered for new projects. 

Designers shouldn’t simply acknowledge these changes in the business environment; they need to look for ways to provide even more value to clients through sustainable initiatives that will improve the bottom line, the article said.

When designers are working on sustainability initiatives for a new project, the definition of what that might be is expanding beyond energy and water conservation and using recycled materials, according to the article. Eliminating toxins in building materials is also a common request.

Read the article.