ENVIRONMENTAL PERFORMANCE OF A MILITARY HOSPITAL OF GREAT PORTE LOCATED IN THE NORTHERN ZONE OF THE CITY OF RIO DE JANEIRO

Abstract

The activities of the health sector are associated with environmental aspects with significant potential to impact the environment and public health. Despite this, the issue of environmental performance in hospital units is still a recent concern in the industry. In this context, this article evaluates the environmental performance of Naval Hospital Marcílio Dias, a tertiary-level hospital located in the northern part of the City of Rio de Janeiro. Efficient measures already established in the hospital were considered, and data were collected through documentary surveys and interviews with employees of the environmental management sector. Performance indicators were generated in relation to the main environmental aspects of the studied health establishment (water consumption, electric energy consumption and generation of hospital waste of different types) in comparison to values suggested in the bibliography. The results indicate that there was no significant improvement in hospital eco-efficiency in the period evaluated (2011-2015). In this way, this work provides valuable contributions for the evaluation of the environmental measures adopted in hospitals and, above all, for the establishment of more effective environmental guidelines for the health sector.