Health Facility Commissioning could save health care industry $15B over 10 years
Nov 11, 2013
A study recently published by The Commonwealth Fund found that hospitals that make efforts toward becoming more sustainable could be saving the health care industry up to $15 billion over a period of 10 years.
The study was sponsored in part by the Healthier Hospitals Initiative (HHI), which is a campaign with the goal of improving environmental health and sustainability in the health care industry. The HHI is composed of six different challenges that aim to encourage the use of safer chemicals, sustainable products, healthier foods, reduced energy use, less waste, and engaged leadership among healthcare industry stakeholders.
For the study, the HHI and Health Care Without Harm (HCWH) organizations tracked nine United States hospitals and health systems that practiced methods of sustainability in their daily operations. Examples of sustainable hospital practices implemented included methods that impacted operating room supply procurement, waste management, and energy use.
The researchers found that all hospitals, including those that made relatively small investments in sustainability, experienced a significant return their investment. Generally, making sustainable changes within a business or organization is widely believed to increase operating costs; however, the study proved that methods of sustainability can result in massive savings, especially in the health care industry.
sys-tek has completed a number of commissioning projects on hospitals and medical centers in the health care industry. Contact us today to learn how we can help your facility save thousands on annual energy costs.
