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Green Healthcare sustain- ability has transi- tioned from being a novelty into a neces- sity over the past 10 years. In the past, sustainability project additions have been regularly "value engineered" out of projects and more critical and cost- ef ective clinical and operational fea- tures have been chosen in their place. Green design in healthcare has been downplayed and disregarded because of a longer payback period or a more expensive upfront cost — the two arguments typically heard with sus- tainable design in any business sector. Despite this tumultuous history, green Features that improve patient satisfaction and the hospital bottom line Green Trends in Modern-Day Hospitals VALUE TRENDS trends in healthcare have become a necessity and will continue to grow in importance in 2015 and beyond. By renovating or designing hos- pital spaces with evidence-based and sustainable practices in mind, hospitals can improve patient satis- faction and their fi nancial outlook in the short and long term. Many green trends not only benefi t the environment and the hospital bot- tom line, but also improve the visitor experience and increase satisfaction during patient hospital stays. These synergies between fi nance, opera- tions and patient engagement are creating a business case for new and innovative sustainability features in hospitals and clinics nationwide and, by implementing one or all of the following prominent green health- care trends, hospital administrators are in a strategic win-win situation. 1. Building up, up and away Site selection is one of the fi rst steps in planning and designing a new hospital facility, and the recent shift in healthcare is lending itself more toward urban, city locations. In the past, hospitals have been planned in suburban areas with large building footprints and expansive property lines. While this creates more free- doms for site usage and planning, it creates dif culties for patient access, public transportation and proxim- ity to basic community services. By planning new hospitals in cities and urban spaces — many times on single city blocks — these dif culties are eliminated. Patients and families can easily access public transit services in city locales, walk to restaurants or public services and navigate their way through smaller hospital department footprints. City Johns Hopkins Hospital Baltimore, Md. PROJECT: Milton A. and Harriet F. Laitman Memorial Garden DEDICATED: 2012 ARCHITECT: OLIN __ Walkable gardens and tranquil features are a main highlight at Johns Hopkins Hospital. One recent green trend is that many healthcare facilities are adding gardens and greenery to indoor public spaces. BY WHITNEY WARDLAW news & practices Photo: Arch Photo, Inc./Eduard Hueber MCDM AG.COM | M A RCH /A PR IL 2015 | Medical Construction & Design 57