How to Manage Healthcare Construction Environmental Risks

Environmental risks facing new construction or renovation of healthcare facilities can jeopardize patient health and lead to significant financial losses, according to an advisory published by ACE Group.

Regulatory changes, increasing competitive pressures and rapid technological advances are transforming the construction of medical facilities, the advisory says. This also opens the business — and its patients — to potential pollution exposure.

The advisory provides risk management recommendations for construction and facilities management to help address exposures and minimize the risk of pollution incidents at healthcare worksites.

Highlights from the ACE advisory include:

• Impact of key healthcare industry challenges, including regulatory changes (Affordable Care Act), competition and technological advances, on healthcare facility construction/renovations.
• Overview of environmental exposures relative to healthcare construction.
• Risk management recommendations and contractor pollution liability coverage considerations for healthcare construction projects.

Fifty-four percent of global healthcare professionals say their hospitals incorporate sustainability into purchasing decisions, and 80 percent expect that to be the case in two years, according to a 2014 Harris Poll commissioned by Johnson & Johnson.