Occupant Evaluation of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Certified Health Centers

Globally, concern for natural resource depletion is growing. The healthcare industry is looking to improve healthcare environments by improving design and using better resources. The U.S. Green Building Council has created the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standard that gives suggestions on how to best use energy, water, land, materials and provide a comfortable indoor environment. Many health centers have used this standard to build new health facilities. It is important that the LEED standards benefit the environment as well as healthcare staff. This study presents four case studies of LEED health centers whose medical staff and administrators evaluate the perceivable green building features applied to their facility. All facilities were given the Occupant Evaluation of LEED Certified Health Centers Survey. The Patrick Dollard Discovery Health Center, the Richard J. Lacks Cancer Center, the Angel Harvey Infant Welfare of Chicago, and the Pearland Pediatric centers received overall satisfactory scores from the occupants. Within the case studies variations in satisfaction occurred where LEED points were not received. There is no evidence that perceivable features used in the design and construction of LEED certified health centers decrease occupant satisfaction.