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56 Medical Construction & Design | M AY/ J U N E 2017 | MCDM AG.COM People often visit healthcare facilities when in their most vulnerable state. Hospitals, clinics, medical offi ces and nursing homes serve the needs of the ill and recovering, and require conditions conducive to healing by alleviating stress, mitigating the spread of disease, providing nutritious food and improving occupant comfort. While the WELL Building Standard, which focuses exclusively on the health and wellness of the people in- side buildings, is only in the "draft" of the pilot stage for healthcare, there is a natural fi t between these sustainability standards and healthcare facilities. What is WELL The WELL Building Standard integrates human health and wellness into the design, construction, maintenance and operations of buildings. The standard is grounded in seven years of rigorous research, exploring the connection between the buildings in which people spend so much of their time and the health and wellness eff ects the built environment has on its occupants. WELL consists of seven concepts: Air, Water, Nourishment, Light, Fitness, Comfort and Mind, all of which are focused on design and construction, busi- ness practices/policies, human behavior and facility operations/management. The WELL Building Standard is administered by the International WELL Building Institute, a public benefi t corporation whose mission is to improve human health and well-being through the built environ- ment. WELL is third-party certifi ed by Green Business Certifi cation Inc., which administers the LEED certifi cation pro- gram. A natural partnership Many healthcare facilities are operational 24 hours per day, 365 days per year and healthcare professionals work long hours and multiple shifts. Since WELL address- es how the built environment signifi cantly impacts human health — infl uencing the choices people make regarding what they eat and drink, how much they move, the quality of the air they breathe and envi- ronmental stressors, which impact how they feel and sleep — WELL standards can signifi cantly improve healthcare facilities. A hospital should be a place that does no harm; one that prevents illnesses and fosters health and wellness. However, hos- pitals are often described by staff , patients and visitors alike as being high-stress, germ-fi lled institutions. WELL strategies can be used to transform an institution into an ideal environment for employees and for patient healing, not just in terms of the bricks and sticks, but also to help shape culture through organizational poli- cies and business practices. As in any other industry, healthcare ad- ministrators want to recruit top talent and retain employees. When WELL is thought of as an investment in employee health and well-being, the cost of implementing these measures is returned through in- creased productivity and enhanced health and happiness of employees. According to the American Society of Interior Designers' white paper, "Recruiting and Retaining Qualifi ed Employees by Design," the physical workplace design is one of the top three factors aff ecting employee performance and job satisfaction. In the high-stress healthcare fi eld, gains on employee performance and retention feed back into better patient care, creating a continuous chain of benefi ts all around. WELL in practice Both Cleveland Clinic and Mayo Clinic have begun integrating WELL require- ments into their facilities. The WELL Living Lab, a Delos and Mayo Clinic collaboration, is a 7,500-square-foot, human-centric research facility located in Rochester, Minnesota, that combines the healthcare expertise and world-class research of Mayo Clinic with the knowl- edge of health and wellness in the built environment provided by Delos. The WELL Living Lab is sensor-rich and can WELL Building Standards + healthcare organizations BY THERESA LEHMAN A NATURAL, SUSTAINABLE FIT Green news & practices