Situational Analysis of Colombian Green Hospitals Belonging to the Global Network

• Main Authors: Jaime Andrés Gil Morales, Ingrid Carolina Guayán Ardila, Luis Humberto Polania Sánchez, Héctor Fabio Restrepo
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Sociedad Española de Sanidad Ambiental 2019-06-01
• Series: Revista de Salud Ambiental
• Subjects: evaluación ambiental global; investigación ambiental; gestión ambiental; salud pública; salud
• Online Access: https://ojs.diffundit.com/index.php/rsa/article/view/918

<p>The Green and Healthy Hospitals Program carries outsocial and environmental intervention actions, encouraging sustainability, supporting environmental management systems at hospitals, improving the achievement of higher standards of environmental footprint and health care.</p><p><strong>Goal:</strong> To analyze the current situation of Colombian hospitals belonging to the global network of green hospitals, diagnosing compliance with network objectives and their contribution to the environmental footprint.</p><p><strong>Materials and methods:</strong> A descriptive documentary investigation; a quantitative study of the fulfillment of the 10 objectives of the Colombian hospitals belonging to the global network of green hospitals as of 2017; a qualitative analysis for measuringthe environmental management at and the environmental footprint of these hospitals.</p><p><strong>Results:</strong> 86 % of hospitals manage hospital waste; 63 %, energy and water; 37 %, leadership; 35 %, chemicals; 22 %, pharmaceutical products; 17 %, green purchases; 11 %, buildings; 10 %, food; and 9 %, transport.</p><p><strong>Conclusions:</strong> The Global Network is an efficient and effective strategy to monitor environmental management at hospitals. The hospitals belonging to the network have made great progress in the management of waste, energy, chemicals and water; the other objectives have a score of environmental management compliance of 10/100 as of 2017. The qualitative score of the strategies that reduce the environmental footprint is poor.</p>