ARLINGTON, Va., Sept. 29 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Health Care Without Harm applauds the Massachusetts Department of Public Health's new guidelines requiring health-related institutions to use the Green Guide for Health Care (GGHC; http://www.gghc.org/) or its equivalent in the design, construction, and renovation of facilities seeking Determination of Need (DoN) approval. The DoN Environmental Guidelines, approved September 24, are the first of their kind in the country.
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The DoN changes require hospitals and extended care applicants to get at least 50% of the possible green building points in the Green Guide for Health Care or the US Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design-Health Care (LEED-HC; http://www.usgbc.org/Displaypage.aspx?categoryID=19), a "silver" level of achievement. As a result, new and renovated hospitals and nursing homes will emphasize non-toxic materials, more efficient and renewable energy systems, better air quality and day-lighting.
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John Auerbach, Massachusetts Dept. of Public Health Commissioner, stated, "With this action the Department is adding a new layer of protection for the health of our citizens, and establishes the importance of improving patient healing and staff wellness through environmentally sound building, construction and operation of health care facilities."
"This guideline will contribute to the sustainable operation of hospitals and extended care facilities in Massachusetts, and sets a precedent we hope will be followed by other states," stated Bill Ravanesi, MA, MPH, Boston Regional Director, Health Care Without Harm.
"This guideline is consistent with our commitment to provide a healthy and sustainable environment for our patients, visitors and staff," stated Arthur Mombourquette, Vice President for Support Services at Brigham and Women's Hospital. "It is helpful to have a designated standard to use to ensure that hospitals are utilizing the best resources available to them."
Effective January 1, 2009 for hospitals, and July 1, 2009 for extended care facilities, applicants will submit a provisional green and healthy strategy credit point assessment in their initial DoN application, then a completed certifiable assessment as part of their plan review. Final approval will be contingent on their getting at least 50 percent of the possible points.
"We are very pleased," said Gail Vittori, convener/director of the GGHC. "Our standard is being used all over the country by hospitals developing sustainable operations." The major teaching hospitals in Boston and several community hospitals in Massachusetts have or are currently using the GGHC for their capital projects.
"This new guideline will help assure Massachusetts residents that their health facilities continue to be constructed in a manner that minimizes environmental impact and that contributes to the fundamental mission of hospitals - the safe care of patients and the protection of their staff members," stated Lynn Nicholas, FACHE, president & CEO of the Massachusetts Hospital Association (MHA).
An MHA conference "Hospitals Going Green" (http://www.mhalink.org/) on October 3, and a Health Care Without Harm Seminar on October 29 will include in-depth presentations and discussion of the new guidelines and other emerging standards.
"The field is starting to build children's hospitals without asthma triggers and cancer centers without carcinogens. This is harder to achieve than you'd think, but we know from many successes that requiring half the possible points is an aggressive but eminently do-able approval threshold. We encourage other states wishing to implement similar measures to contact us for assistance," stated Paul Lipke, Senior Advisor, Energy and Buildings for Health Care Without Harm.
Heath Care without Harm, an international coalition of more than 473 organizations in 52 countries, is working to transform the health care sector, without compromising patient safety or care, so that it is ecologically sustainable and no longer a source of harm to public health and the environment. For more information on healthy building, go to http://www.noharm.org/us/healthyBuilding/issue . To learn more about HCWH's work on other issues related to health care, go to http://www.noharm.org.
SOURCE Health Care Without Harm
