Greening Hospitals…and a surprise cost benefit!
Hospitals all over the world are slowly but surely jumping on the Green bandwagon. Some facilities have investigated new, more sustainable power sources such as wind power, which can help to reduce a facility’s carbon footprint and fossil fuel usage. Others have developed elaborate recycling programs, installed water-reducing or no-water restroom fixtures, and taken other steps to minimize their impact on the environment.
All of these steps are significant because hospitals are 24/7 facilities that use huge volumes of natural resources. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, for instance, estimates that hospitals use twice as much energy per square foot as office buildings.
However, when it comes to the use of Green cleaning chemicals, hospitals, as well as many other health-care facilities, have been a bit slow to come onboard. There are several reasons for this. Among them are:
• Federal regulations require the use of certain types of chemicals, specifically disinfectants, in certain areas of hospitals. In the United States, these products can not be recognized as environmentally preferable.
• Some hospital administrators question the effectiveness of Green cleaning products in general, feeling they may not be safe to use in situations where health is paramount.
• Concerns about costs and acceptance of the products by administrators and custodians have also stymied Green cleaning efforts in hospitals.
Nevertheless, some hospitals are transferring to Green cleaning.
The experience of one Green-cleaned hospital, Bloomington Hospital, Bloomington, Indiana, and its Director of Environmental Services, John Freeman, provides a glimpse as to how the process can evolve and be implemented.
John, when did you first start the process of transferring to Green cleaning at Bloomington Hospital?
We have been considering this for a while and actually started the process in 2008. The hospital had been looking to upgrade its cleaning systems. This opened the door for us to investigate Green cleaning and see if it would work for us.
What concerns did you have about Green products?
Of course performance was at the top of our list, as were costs. In selecting Green cleaning products we considered:
• how they could impact the hospital’s infection rate (positively or negatively)
• how frequently we would use the product
• the performance of the product
• if there would be a cost increase or savings involved in using the product
• the product’s impact on time and labor
• vendor and distributor serviceability and assistance
We found several products that worked well; in fact, we did not find any that I would say performed poorly. Ultimately, we settled on one manufacturer’s Green chemical product line.
As to costs, we initially budgeted a cost increase of about 6.5 percent to cover the costs of the environmentally preferable cleaning chemicals, but we now think we will actually lower our chemical and labor costs by 8 to 13 percent by using the Green cleaning chemicals.
Are there areas of the hospital where you are not using Green cleaning chemicals?
There are government regulations requiring the use of conventional disinfectants in certain areas such as surgery suites, emergency departments, patient bedsides, and bathrooms, where there is a potentially higher vulnerability to the spread of germs.
Once you started using the Green chemicals, was there any initial reaction from the staff or patients?
Yes. Throughout the facility, there was a much more pleasant scent. Our patients noticed it, as did administrators and our Environmental Services team.
As to the cleaning staff, can you tell us more about their reaction to the Green cleaning products?
There is always some hesitance to change to new cleaning products of any kind. But we made sure our Environmental Services team was involved with the process from the start, testing the products and evaluating them. As they came to realize the products were as good as, if not better, than what we were using before, they took ownership of the products and actually became our most enthusiastic supporters for them.
And the administrators?
Of course they liked the more pleasant scent, as I have already mentioned. We also found that we could release the [hard surface] floor areas back to the nursing staff in as much as half the time using the environmentally preferable sealers and finishes—this really delighted them. Now we are starting to see a much greater collaboration between administrators, our Environmental Services team, and bedside caregivers because they all like the Green cleaning products.
Do you think more hospitals will follow your lead?
Definitely. I think more hospitals will begin selecting Green cleaning chemicals and use them wherever they can.
What more advice do you have for other hospitals and those cleaning professionals involved in hospital cleaning as to Green cleaning?
Get everyone onboard when considering the transfer to Green cleaning chemicals. This includes the cleaning staff, most importantly, because they are the ones that will be using the products every day, but also administrators and staff. If there is an infection control committee or product review committee at the hospital, they also must be involved with the process from the start. Also, finding a distributor that is well versed in Green cleaning and really knows the products available, which work best in which situations, and how to use them can be invaluable. The distributor is your guide, educator, and conductor, orchestrating the Green Cleaning process