The Environmental Sustainability Assessment of an Orthopedics Emergency Hospital Supported by a New Innovative Framework

Flaviu Moldovan (), Liviu Moldovan and Tiberiu Bataga
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Flaviu Moldovan: Department of Orthopedics-Traumatology, Faculty of Medicine, “George Emil Palade” University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Science, and Technology of Targu Mures, 540142 Targu Mures, Romania
Liviu Moldovan: Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology, “George Emil Palade” University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Science, and Technology of Targu Mures, 540142 Targu Mures, Romania
Tiberiu Bataga: Department of Training, Technological Innovation and Research in Orthopedics-Traumatology, Faculty of Medicine, “George Emil Palade” University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Science, and Technology of Targu Mures, 540142 Targu Mures, Romania

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 18, 1-31

Abstract: Due to their high consumption of resources and enormous amount of generated waste, healthcare systems are not considered to be sustainable. Given the constant changes in internal needs, improvement of this state cannot be achieved only through policies, strategies, and interventions administered from the outside. Thus, it is necessary to design tools that, through their constant application, facilitate the sustainable development of health institutions. The objective of this research is to develop and validate in practice an innovative framework for assessing the sustainability of healthcare facilities that is compatible with hospital accreditation legislation and other community frameworks. The research is limited to the study of environmental sustainability and its results are validated in a healthcare facility with an orthopedic profile. The research method consists of defining the domains of the new innovative framework, collecting the latest medical practices related to environmental sustainability, designing indicators related to environmental responsibility and a matrix of indicators, followed by its validation in practice at an emergency hospital. The new innovative framework is organized in three areas, including environmental, economic, and social sustainability, to which is added organizational capacity along with management and provision of sustainable healthcare services. It contains 57 indicators, of which 8 are dedicated to the environmental area. The indicators are described in detail together with evaluation grids structured by the coupled degrees of importance and achievement. The practical implementation of the innovative framework at the County Emergency Clinical Hospital of Targu Mures highlights its added value by promoting sustainability strategies together with continuous quantification of the organization’s sustainability level.

Keywords: environmental sustainability; sustainable development; innovative framework; assessment; orthopedics department; healthcare facility (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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