Environmental Health Checkups: EDF Climate Corps Fellow searches for energy savings in healthcare facilities

. The Green Guide for Healthcare (GGHC), the current standard in green building practices for hospitals, has been hard at work with the US Green Building Council (USGBC) developing a much-anticipated LEED for Healthcare rating system. Last year, the US Department of Energy got involved by launching the Hospital Energy Alliance, a collaboration of leading hospitals and industry associations to decrease hospital energy consumption. There are also other programs such as ENERGY STAR for Healthcare, nonprofit organizations such as Practice Greenhealth and Health Care Without Harm, and conferences like CleanMed.

As I dive in to help find savings throughout HCA's portfolio of more than 160 hospitals and 100 surgery centers, it is becoming increasingly clear that I am fortunate to be the lone fellow working in this exciting industry. The time for energy efficiency in the realm of healthcare has come, and I’m thrilled to be on the forefront.

Sign up to receive emails about EDF Climate Corps 2010, including regular blog posts by our fellows. You can also visit our Facebook page to get regular updates about this project.