The ROI of Outdoor Wellness Programs: How Health Care Facilities Are Turning Green Space Into Revenue Generators

Health care facilities can always improve the experience for employees and patients. Industry leaders are exploring how they can invest in green spaces to support people better and generate revenue in new ways. Learning about the benefits of outdoor wellness programs and how they make health centers better environments can make the return on investment (ROI) clearer for medical administrators.

Benefits of Outdoor Wellness Programs for Medical Facilities

Leadership teams should also learn how outdoor wellness spaces improve everyday lives. Understanding the physical and mental health benefits could motivate health care facility leadership to find room in their budgets for green space projects.

Better Patient Outcomes

Recovery timelines may differ, but people do not often enjoy being stuck inside for long periods if health care facilities have green spaces. Patients benefit by exploring them. They often recover faster from surgery or illness if they have access to green spaces. Relieving their stress and feeling more settled during their inpatient time could help them embrace their recovery more effectively.

Improved Employee Mental Health

Medical clinics and hospitals can be intense places to work. While health care professionals understand that stressors come with the job, they can still ease their mental health during shifts if they have outdoor spaces like gardens. Leadership teams should know that spending time outside reduces anxiety and depression symptoms. If a new garden includes a walking path, employees can enjoy the benefits of outdoor exercise and return to work with a better mood.

Increased Team Productivity

People might think that spending time in a green area will take away from their work. Even if they are not actively treating patients while they take deep breaths in a garden, they are still maintaining their daily productivity. Outdoor breaks enhance a person’s attention span and their cognitive abilities. Staff could return to work with better focus, which may ramp up their productivity compared to overstimulating, stressful shifts.

Stronger Community Bonds

Green spaces improve bonds between neighbors by bringing them together in a place that strengthens their mental well-being. Health care facilities make that happen with publicly accessible green areas. Running trails or outdoor workout equipment may inspire people to start fitness clubs that help everyone make friends. Better relationships are part of improving mental health, which can start with public outdoor wellness programs.

Measuring the ROI of Green Wellness Spaces

Developing an outdoor wellness area costs money. While the specific ROI differs depending on the facility’s initial investments and long-term usage, health care teams can anticipate a few key metrics.

Helping patients recover faster will increase room turnover and minimize the costly supplies necessary for longer recoveries. They may also refer their loved ones to the facility because they got home quickly.

Keeping staff happy is another way medical administrative teams boost the ROI of their outdoor wellness areas. The turnover cost per nurse ranges between $21,514-$88,000 in the U.S., which could be more expensive than installing an outdoor break area. Retaining nurses, doctors and other team members could save the facility much more money than whatever leadership invests in an outdoor yoga or physical therapy space.

If a facility leadership team designates individuals to run public wellness clubs, the community could pay membership fees to access amenities like exercise classes. The additional revenue would increase the project’s ROI, especially if the green space is a nicer location to spend time than nearby public parks.

Examples of Green Spaces at Health Care Facilities

People may struggle to picture a big public park attached to their local hospital or doctor’s office, as they are typically stand-alone buildings surrounded by parking lots. However, they can also incorporate green spaces to boost the well-being of everyone who walks through the door. Health care teams often get inspired to build things like:

• Walking trails
• Rooftop gardens
• Outdoor yoga spaces
• Therapy gardens
• Nature-based playgrounds

Even buildings in urban areas can create rooftop or vertical gardens to add more greenery to a facility. Getting creative is an essential part of embracing outdoor wellness and maximizing the ROI of any project.

How Teams Turn Spaces Into Wellness Getaways

Health care professionals get creative when they decide to make outdoor spaces. The key is designing each project with a new perspective to maximize the benefits of outdoor wellness programs.

1. They Consider Surrounding Woods

Many medical clinics and hospitals have trees surrounding each building. The facility leadership could invest in a project that removes some of the trees to build therapy gardens or yoga spaces. Removing brush could also make running trails possible. If they connect to nearby parks or public areas, residents will enjoy the trails without using any of the health care facility’s parking spaces.

2. Leaders Use Undeveloped Plots

If there is limited greenery around a medical facility, people can take advantage of undeveloped spaces on the property. Even a tiny grassy nook next to an employee entrance could turn into a relaxing bench surrounded by beautiful plants. The smallest spaces can make the biggest difference in facilities lacking green spaces.

3. Medical Professionals Rethink The Roof

People working in urban health care buildings should consider how they might use rooftop space as their green getaway. If they add outdoor plants or a vertical garden, they will feel like they walked into a park whenever they access the roof. People do not need much to gain the nature exposure necessary for stress-relieving mental health benefits.

Experience the Benefits of Outdoor Wellness

Medical facilities are excellent places to build green areas. Whether employees gain a bench surrounded by blooming flowers or an outdoor workout space, they and community members will maximize the ROI of any wellness-centered project.