LEED for Healthcare Rating Unveiled
PHOENIX — The U.S. Green Building Council announced its latest green building rating system geared specifically for the healthcare industry. 
LEED for Healthcare, announced at the CleanMed conference, guides the design and construction of new buildings and major renovations of existing buildings, and can be applied to inpatient, outpatient and licensed long-term care facilities, in addition to medical offices, assisted-living facilities and medical education and research centers.
"Research has shown that when we are treated and heal in a green healthcare facility — one that has a healthy indoor environmental quality and connects us to the outdoors — we heal faster, have shorter hospital stays and fewer return visits," said Scot Horst, senior vice president of LEED for the USGBC. "LEED for Healthcare is now six years in the making, addressing the healthcare industry’s unique green building needs."
The system was developed to meet the unique needs of a 24-hour operational facility, taking into account factors like process water use related to medical equipment, rural facility locations, specific patient requirements and staff health, among others.
LEED for Healthcare is the result of the Council’s collaboration between the Green Guide for Healthcare, the Center for Maximum Potential Building Systems and Health Care Without Harm.
The system was first launched as a pilot program in 2007 by the Green Guide for Healthcare. Feedback from the project helped inform the creation of LEED for Healthcare.
"Building on the foundational work of the Green Guide for Healthcare, it provides an explicit recognition of health consequences associated with a spectrum of building-related decisions — from location, to water and energy sources and use patterns, and materials specification — and emphasizes integrative design as requisite for a successful design, construction and building performance outcomes," said Gail Vittori, co-director of the Center for Maximum Potential Building Systems and founding chair of the LEED for Healthcare Committee.
The LEED for Healthcare rating system passed USGBC member ballot in November 2010. More than 225 healthcare projects have received LEED certification, with 1,176 in the pipeline as registered projects. Additional tools and resources, including educational workshops, webinars, podcasts, and Reference Guide, will be made available in the coming months when full certification functionality is available.
www.usgbc.org/leed/healthcare.