Health care facilities are smart when they link their structural and operational safety with green interventions, at a reasonable cost-to-benefit ratio. This Toolkit is comprised of previously developed instruments such as the Hospital Safety Index, which many countries are using to help ensure that new or existing health facilities are disaster-resilient. The Green Checklist and other accompanying tools support the Safe Hospitals Initiative and will guide health officials and hospital administrators in achieving smart health care facilities.

A practical guide for hospital administrators, health disaster coordinators, health facility designers, engineers and maintenance staff to achieve Smart Health Facilities by conserving resources, cutting costs, increasing efficiency in operations and reducing carbon emissions.

The Caribbean region is prone to a wide variety of natural hazards and at risk from the impact of climate change, putting the safety of health facilities at risk when damage to structural and non-structural elements leave the facilities unable to function. At the same time, health care facilities are also leading consumers of energy, with a large environmental footprint. Health care facilities are ‘smart’ when they link their structural and operational safety with green interventions, at a reasonable cost-to-benefit ratio.

This Toolkit offers a variety of instruments, including the Hospital Safety Index, which many countries are currently using to help ensure that new or existing health facilities are disaster-resilient; a Baseline Assessment Tool to collect reliable information on the building’s performance and operations and how it measures up against current code, regulatory requirements and zoning regulations and a Green Checklist that outlines feasible areas in which to introduce “smart” measures.