On the value of environmental stewardship and sustainability in health administration education.

Abstract

Global warming, the depletion of the world'snatural resources, and excessive consumer consumption in developed countries are determinants reshaping the way we live our everyday lives. These factors are rapidly giving rise to new ecological paradigms of environmental stewardship and in healthcare environments that express sustainable theories and practices. This has given rise to a systematic system for promoting and assessing the energy performance and efficiency of healthcare facilities known as Leadership in Energy Efficient Environmental Design (LEED), and a parallel certification program, the Green Guide for Heath Care. These developments are examined in direct relation to the functions of managerial ethics. A series of ten sustainability-based ethical dilemmas are presented. Each is examined in relation to the need to inculcate in future healthcare administrators a critical understanding and appreciation of the need to reposition contemporary healthcare organizations at the center--as leading civic participants and role models in relation to the emerging movement towards carbon neutrality in the healthcare industry.