What is Sustainable development?
Sustainable development is a multifaceted approach aimed at managing our finite resources responsibly to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. In essence, it’s about striking a balance between economic, environmental, and social factors to ensure long-term prosperity and well-being.
Within the healthcare industry, the principles of sustainable development solutions are particularly crucial. The sector relies heavily on various resources, from medical supplies to energy, all of which come with their own environmental and economic implications. For instance, medical resources have expiration dates, making it imperative to manage inventory efficiently to avoid waste. Additionally, the energy-intensive nature of healthcare facilities underscores the importance of transitioning to renewable energy sources to reduce carbon footprint and mitigate climate change impacts.
To achieve sustainability in healthcare, innovative tools and techniques are continuously being developed and implemented. These may include optimizing supply chain management to minimize waste, adopting energy-efficient technologies, and promoting practices that prioritize patient outcomes while minimizing resource consumption.
Ultimately, sustainable development in healthcare not only ensures the efficient use of resources but also contributes to improved patient care, environmental stewardship, and long-term resilience in the face of global challenges. By integrating sustainability principles into everyday practices, the healthcare industry can play a significant role in shaping a more equitable and resilient future for all.
Importance of sustainable development in the healthcare industry:
Environmental Impact :
The Healthcare Industry generates lots of plastic and radioactive wastes which are very harmful for the surrounding environment, these wastes need to be disposed of or recycled properly through means of sustainability, ignoring these factors might result in drastic environmental changes like climate vegetation and water bodies.
Public Health:
It’s very important for us to take care of us & everyone’s health, keeping in mind that the depleting nature might cause severe health issues. Sustainability healthcare practice helps and promotes clean air, water & environment thus, benefiting our health by reducing diseases.
Cost Saving :
In the healthcare industry the cost of implementation of the technology is very high. This sustainability practice helps us to save the cost for long term purpose, it can be by means of using & utilizing the renewable sources of energy.
Resilience:
Sustainable healthcare systems are more resilient to environmental & social disruptions. By investing in renewable energy sources, disaster preparedness, & community healthcare health programs, healthcare facilities can better withstand crises such as natural disasters & pandemics.
Equity and access :
Sustainable healthcare promotes equity and access to healthcare services and resource , ensuring the vulnerable populations are not disproportionately affected by environmental degradation or resource depletion.`
How Renewable resources helps in the sustainability in hospitals:
Renewable resources contribute to sustainable healthcare solutions in hospitals by reducing reliance on finite fossil fuels and minimizing environmental impact :
- Energy Efficiency: Hospitals can utilize renewable energy sources like solar panels, wind turbines, and geothermal systems to generate electricity, reducing their carbon footprint and energy costs.
- Green Building: Constructing or retrofitting hospitals with sustainable materials and designs, such as energy-efficient lighting and insulation, helps minimize energy consumption and improve indoor air
quality. - Waste Reduction: Implementing recycling programs and using biodegradable materials can reduce the amount of waste produced by hospitals, promoting a more sustainable waste management system.
- Water Conservation: Installing water-saving fixtures and utilizing rainwater harvesting systems can decrease water consumption in hospitals, conserving this precious resource.
Some renewable energy resources which help in the sustainability of the hospitals:
Wind energy:
Wind turbines serve as a key component in hospitals’ quest for sustainable energy solutions. By harnessing wind power, hospitals can significantly reduce their reliance on conventional electricity sources, thus curbing greenhouse gas emissions and pollutants. Wind turbines generate electricity without emitting greenhouse gasses or pollutants, providing hospitals with a clean and sustainable energy source to power their operations.
Utilizing wind energy can help hospitals reduce their electricity bills over time, freeing up resources for patient care and other essential services. By diversifying their energy sources and relying on wind power, hospitals can become less vulnerable to fluctuations in fossil fuel prices and supply disruption. Generating electricity from wind turbines produces no carbon dioxide or other harmful emissions, helping hospitals lower their carbon footprint and combat climate change.
Installing wind turbines can serve as a visible demonstration of a hospital’s commitment to sustainability, inspiring staff, patients, and the surrounding community to adopt environmentally friendly practices.
Solar Energy:
Hospitals typically have high energy consumption for heating, cooling, lighting, and medical equipment. Hospitals, renowned for their high energy consumption, can significantly mitigate their environmental impact by leveraging solar energy. Solar panels offer a clean and renewable energy source, devoid of greenhouse gas emissions during operation.
Solar PV (photovoltaic) systems, with a lifespan of around 25 years, provide hospitals with a long-term and reliable energy solution. Solar energy in hospitals can significantly reduce their electricity bills, freeing up funds for patient care and other essential services. Solar energy is a clean and renewable energy source that produces no greenhouse gas emissions during operation. By incorporating solar panels, hospitals can reduce their carbon footprint and contribute to mitigating climate.
Solar panels can provide a reliable source of power, especially in regions prone to power outages or where the grid infrastructure is unreliable. This reliability is crucial for hospitals to ensure continuous operations, especially for critical medical equipment and life-saving. During natural disasters or emergencies, hospitals may become isolated from the grid.
Solar energy systems with battery storage can provide backup power, ensuring that essential medical services can continue uninterrupted. In semi-urban and rural regions of India and other developing countries with unreliable power grids, decentralized renewable energy – especially solar – is making all the difference in delivering modern health care. And it’s becoming even more indispensable where heat and weather extremes are increasing due to climate change.
In Raichur, for example, temperatures can soar to 42 degrees Celsius (107 degrees Fahrenheit) in the warmest months (Ref.- Economic times). Hospitals often serve as community hubs, and their adoption of solar energy can serve as a model for sustainable practices, inspiring other institutions and individuals to follow suit. This can foster a culture of sustainability within the community.
DID YOU KNOW? Haiti is home to one of the world’s largest solar-powered hospitals, the Hôpital Universitaire de Mirebalais.
Water Energy:
Hydroelectric power relies on the natural flow of water, making it a renewable energy source. By utilizing hydroelectric power, hospitals can reduce their dependence on fossil fuels and decrease their carbon .Unlike solar or wind energy, which can be intermittent, hydroelectric power provides a stable and predictable source of energy.
This reliability is crucial for hospitals, ensuring continuous operations and reliable power for critical medical equipment. Hydroelectric power can be generated on-site or through local hydroelectric plants, reducing the need for long-distance transmission of electricity. This localized energy production can increase energy efficiency and resilience, especially in areas with limited access to the grid or prone to power outages.
Some hydroelectric systems incorporate water storage and management, which can also contribute to water conservation efforts. Hospitals can use these systems to optimize water usage, reduce waste, and promote sustainable water management practices.
Geo-thermal Energy:
Geothermal energy harnesses heat from the Earth’s interior, providing a constant and renewable energy source. By utilizing geothermal systems for heating, cooling, and electricity generation, hospitals can reduce their reliance on fossil fuels and decrease greenhouse gas emissions. Geothermal systems are highly efficient, especially for heating and cooling applications.
By tapping into the Earth’s stable temperatures, geothermal heat pumps can provide efficient heating in winter and cooling in summer, leading to energy savings and reduced operating costs for hospitals.Unlike solar or wind energy, which can be intermittent, geothermal energy provides a continuous and reliable source of power. Hospitals require uninterrupted power for critical medical equipment and operations, making geothermal energy an attractive option for ensuring reliability.
While the upfront costs of installing geothermal systems can be higher compared to conventional HVAC systems, hospitals can benefit from long-term cost savings through reduced energy consumption and lower maintenance costs. Over time, the return on investment can be substantial, contributing to the financial sustainability of the healthcare facility.
Geothermal energy systems produce minimal greenhouse gas emissions and have a small environmental footprint compared to conventional heating and cooling systems. By reducing their carbon footprint, hospitals can demonstrate their commitment to environmental stewardship and sustainability.
How 3R help in sustainable development of hospitals :
Worldwide, healthcare is one of fastest growing and also the largest growing sectors in the industry . Health care provides 24×7 treatment to the patient and cures them in the best possible way within less time. By the help of Sustainability, we can reduce the environmental pollution and can maintain good hygiene in the health care sector. As we all know, an Unhygienic and contaminated environment works like an enemy for a patient’s health and decreases the quality of treatment and care.Basically the 3R concept stands for – Reduce , Reuse , Recycle.
- Reduce: Hospitals can reduce the usage by following some process such as decreasing the usage of packaging waste , minimizing the paper usage by working with the help of digital documentation Other than that we all know that there are various types of equipment can be found in hospital which can only run by the help of electricity , even some of them need a huge amount of energy to work properly, in that case hospitals can optimize the amount of energy consumption to reduce utility waste that comes from the equipment.
- Reuse: Hospitals can reuse the resources by extending their life cycle . Like , there is linen which is used in the bed of the patient, that can be cleaned properly and can be donated to any kind of organization. Some reusable things in a hospital include surgical tools and also the furniture etc.
- Recycle: Nowadays environmental pollution is growing rapidly , every day tons of plastic and other
garbage are thrown in the water bodies, which make it contaminated for daily use. Like that there is plenty of dirt and garbage that comes from the hospital . Among them few items can be recycled properly and can be reused . The main objective of this step is to reduce environmental pollution and develop more sustainability in the hospital sector which will be great for both the hospital and the surroundings.
G20 summits for sustainable development:
Global Commitment to Sustainable Development: Introduce the G20 summits as a platform where world leaders gather to address pressing global issues, including sustainable development. Highlight the importance of sustainable healthcare in achieving broader development goals.
Focus on Healthcare Infrastructure: Discuss how G20 discussions extend beyond traditional economic matters to encompass critical sectors like healthcare infrastructure. Emphasize the significance of hospitals as key components of healthcare systems and sustainable development.
Resource Efficiency in Hospitals: Explore initiatives aimed at enhancing resource efficiency in hospitals, such as energy-saving measures, waste management strategies, and adoption of green building practices. Highlight successful case studies from G20 member countries.
Equitable Access to Healthcare: Address the importance of ensuring equitable access to healthcare services, including hospital facilities, for all segments of society. Discuss efforts to reduce disparities in healthcare access and improve healthcare outcomes globally.
Innovation and Technology: Showcase innovative technologies and digital solutions that enhance the sustainability and efficiency of hospital operations. Discuss how G20 member countries collaborate to promote technological innovation in healthcare delivery.
Resilience and Preparedness: Explore discussions around building resilient healthcare systems capable of responding to challenges such as pandemics, natural disasters, and climate change. Highlight the role of G20 initiatives in strengthening healthcare resilience and preparedness.
Public-Private Partnerships: Discuss the importance of public-private partnerships in financing and implementing sustainable healthcare infrastructure projects, including hospital construction and renovation. Highlight successful partnerships and best practices.
Capacity Building and Knowledge Sharing: Highlight the significance of capacity building and knowledge sharing among G20 member countries in advancing sustainable healthcare development. Discuss collaborative initiatives aimed at fostering expertise exchange and skill development in the healthcare sector.
Policy Commitments: Outline the G20’s overarching commitment to sustainable development, including the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and how this translates into policy discussions at summits.
Healthcare Infrastructure: Discuss the importance of healthcare infrastructure, including hospitals, in achieving sustainable development goals such as good health and well-being (SDG 3) and sustainable cities and communities (SDG 11).
Why to study BBA hospital management?
Hospital and healthcare management teaches us sustainability, how we can use our resources by utilizing it properly, effectively and efficiently so that it can be saved or stored for the efficient use of the upcoming and future generations.
Not only BBA hospital management course teaches us how to be sustainable and create sustainable healthcare solutions in this world but also teaches us how to handle the different dimensions of management, that is workforce, people, time and operations management which we can connect to our day to day life , we get to learn about different disease,cause effect symptoms, etc and get a way to regulate a particular hospital at a semi, middle or higher level , this course can include the job requirements in the position of sales manager, HR, junior executive, senior executive, marketing head , finance department, operations head and many more.
Inspiria knowledge campus is one of the best colleges which is affiliated under MAKAUT delivers one of the best quality education and in hand experience in BBA in hospital management, Where professional faculties are very friendly and cooperative, giving you a wide space and time for understanding the concept of this course . In the uprising Healthcare system, knowledge in management plays a crucial role to shape the future sustainable system.
Conclusion
No one knows what our future will be in the upcoming years because of the depleting resources. It’s just like we are preparing, planning, directing and executing our knowledge in exams. The same goes for this sustainable development, which requires planning of the effective ideas and execution of it. To achieve the goals we should master Hospital Management & knowledge of Sustainability for making a progressive healthcare system by reducing the carbon footprint.
