“The Case for Building Green in Healthcare”

The Council’s fall CEO/Trustee luncheon held at Martin’s Crosswinds September 12 brought together healthcare leaders, industry leaders, architects and engineers to hear the latest on planning new construction presented by Healthcare Council Associate Skanska USA Building.

The theme was building “green” from the initial planning stages and the long payback once completed. Here is an overview of what Anthony Baldasarri had to say.

Mr. Baldasarri began over the past decade the design and construction industry has seen how “green” building practices and LEED certified facilities have become the norm. From corporate to commercial to residential and from public to private enterprises green design practices have become increasingly mainstream and widely accepted. The latest and most challenging industry for the acceptance of green design and building practices has been in healthcare. There are common misconceptions that it is too complex and costly to design and construct green healthcare facilities. The reality is that it is happening and it is possible when the projects are planned with the right vision, a LEED experienced design team, and that the sustainable features are incorporated very early into the design stages. The initial costs for instituting LEED into the design of a building are minimal and depending on the level of the certification make up roughly on average 2% of the overall project costs. The honorable obligation of building and designing green facilities melds easily into the core values and mission statements of many healthcare facilities. By making green design an inherent image of the project, the end result will be the advantage of a “triple bottom line” with economic, community, and environmental benefits which enhance the facility’s role in the fabric of the society.

Healthcare facilities are commonly seen as community assets and places of refuge and healing and a facilities designed with “green” values at its core can easily reflect and mold to the mission and character of a hospital facility. The facility itself should encompass holistic and sustainable features and materials that make it instrumental in a patient’s healing process. The end result is a facility that will benefit in the healing of patients and user friendly amenities that retain existing staff and even attract new members.

The Providence Newberg Medical Center in Newberg, Oregon is an excellent case study that proves “green” building in the healthcare industry is not only achievable but sensible. As the first LEED Gold certified healthcare facility in the nation, Providence Newberg Medical Center felt it was their obligation to their surrounding community to create a project that was a sustainable asset to its scenic and natural surroundings that responsibly and efficiently utilized energy. Healthcare facilities are consistently proven to be inefficient and expensive energy consumers. Providence Newberg made energy conservation one of its green building priorities. They believed that stewardship, one of their institutional core values, was an obligation to not only to the members of their surrounding community but to the natural surroundings as well. The keys to their success was they found a “green” champion that kept the focus on LEED, they created a design team that had a proven track record in constructing green, and they incorporated LEED building practices and green building initiatives into the project design at the earliest stages.

Throughout the design phase they tracked each LEED component and credit and even found ways to compensate for them in the overall budget by finding private and public grants that were available and awarded. By implementing the latest in “green” technology” to adding “no cost” design features by maximizing the use of the building’s southern sun exposure, the medical center is now projected to save approximately $178,000 per year in energy costs. The facility also exceeds the efficiency rating for Oregon Energy Code by 26% and has efficiency rating on water usage 33% better than federal requirements. The facility also purchases 100% “Green Power” from regional power providers. Providence Newberg Medical Center is a landmark testament that sustainability in green design and construction is achievable, economical, and an astute approach that benefits the users, the patients, and the surrounding community. A facility that users and a community are proud of and sustainable features that will continue to payback financially, socially, and environmentally throughout the life of the building.

A quote by Janine Benyus, author of Biomimicry- Innovation Inspired by Nature, on the success, significance, and influence of the Providence Newberg facility best emphasizes the case for “green” design and construction in healthcare: “Providence Health & Services has two patients: the medical patient and the earth. To heal one without the other will not last.”

Mr. Baldasarri concluded with a question and answer session.