Some suburban hospitals have been making strides toward the increasingly important goal of “greening” their facilities as much as possible to become more environmentally friendly.

Realizing that such efforts are not only good for their bottom line in that energy savings and pollution reduction equipment and materials can reduce costs, hospital officials in the area know that it’s also a stance that’s increasingly popular to the public.

But more can still be accomplished, as was indicated by an unusual meeting recently in Chicago.

In a unique collaboration that spanned multiple sectors, the Chicago based Health Research and Educational Trust (HRET) brought together 25 senior health care, non-profit, government, business and philanthropy leaders this fall to examine how to advance the greening of health care in America. HRET is an affiliate of the American Hospital Association (AHA).

One of the more interesting names of an organization represented at the HRET meeting is HealthCare Without Harm (HCWH), a global coalition of 443 organizations in 52 countries working to protect health by reducing pollution in the health care industry.

The Green Health Care Champion Planning Meeting by HRET developed an initial framework for a leadership education program that will expand the health care field’s capacity to adopt more ecologically sustainable practices, while continuing to provide high quality patient care and expand the work hospital and health care providers are already doing.

Mary A. Pittman, president of HRET, said further information about the leadership education program would not be available until later in 2008.

“We are seeing hospitals become increasingly aware of their environmental footprint,” she said.

Pittman said participants at the meeting agreed that hospitals are focused on environmental stewardship, but can continue to do better in the areas of energy consumption, consumable medical supplies, waste reduction, and the design and construction of patient care buildings.

Particular opportunities exist, Pittman said, when hospital executives are designing new facilities and renovating old ones.

“Many hospital leaders are finding abundant reasons—energy savings, staff retention, and community approval—to factor in the environment.”

Interviews by The Business Ledger with executives of some suburban hospitals showed that the HRET plan is one of several programs by organizations working with hospitals to make them more environmentally friendly

Another organization is Clean Air Counts, a northeastern Illinois regional initiative to reduce ozone-causing emissions and to improve air quality. The organization is a collaborative effort among the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus, the City of Chicago, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in Region 5, and the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency.

Joining Clean Air Counts, Marianjoy Rehabilitation Hospital in Wheaton reported on its clean air practices. Over a nine-month period, the hospital had reduced emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) by over 22,000 pounds as a result using low VOC cleaning products, according to Mike Hedderman, chief financial officer.

Renovation of the original hospital and its conversion into a state-of-the-art Outpatient Pavilion enabled Marianjoy to include clean air products and practices into the new facility.

This past summer, installation of low VOC carpeting in a new Outpatient Pavilion reduced VOC emissions by another 1,156 pounds. Office equipment approved by the Energy Star program of the federal government and used by the hospital reduced harmful emissions by 29.38 pounds.

Clean air strategies at Marianjoy are part of an environmental initiative, Hedderman said, that began several years ago with the installation of energy-efficient lighting and recycling programs that now handle 186,000 pounds of waste over a one-year period.

Marianjoy’s commitment to environmentally healthy initiatives was officially recognized by Hospitals for a Healthy Environment (H2E) when it received the Making Medicine Mercury Free Award in 2005. At that time Marianjoy was honored as one of only two hospitals throughout Illinois that had participated in completely eliminating mercury from their environments. The element, commonly found in thermometers and other health care devices, is considered bad for the environment by some people.

H2E was jointly founded by the American Hospital Association (AHA), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Health Care Without Harm and the American Nurses Association. A memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the AHA and the EPA called for virtual elimination of mercury waste, reduction of the health care sector’s total waste volume, chemical waste minimization, and a variety of educational and information sharing activities focused on pollution prevention and toxics minimization. In 2006 H2E became an independent non-for-profit organization.

Also a member of H2E is Alexian Brothers Medical Center in Elk Grove Village. In a recent program at that facility executives concentrated on design features at the new central plant and BedTower and Medical Mall that will reduce the hospital’s energy use, water consumption and corresponding greenhouse gas emissions.

One example of the features was the installation of premium efficiency motors on the cooling tower fans and all pumps. This equipment uses less electricity than standard or high efficiency motors, according to Ken Waltz, director of facilities.

For its efforts on the cooling tower features and other equipment, Alexian Brothers received an Excellence in Engineering Award from the Illinois Chapter of the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air Conditioning Engineers.

Another suburban health facility, Edward Hospital in Naperville, is also moving toward more energy efficiency and working through a local organization, the Metropolitan Chicago Healthcare Council (MCHC) Energy Efficiency Improvement Program. That program was launched in January 2007.

MCHC estimated that 11 participating hospitals spend in excess of $12 million annually in energy costs. The local organization cited a nationwide survey of hospitals by Health Facilities Management and the American Society for Healthcare Engineering that indicated that one in six hospitals reported an annual energy cost increase of more than 25 percent.

Particular aspects mentioned by Bruce Enders, chief engineer at Edward, include two new high pressure steam boilers which have very high energy efficiency. He did not have figures yet for energy savings.

Other energy saving equipment at Edward includes replacing older fluorescent lighting with more energy efficient ones, setting back temperatures at night in unoccupied rooms from 74 degrees to 69 degrees. One of the latest projects is looking into more energy efficient roofing by going to an all-white material which reflects heat better than the old black roofs with gravel and tar pitch.

The biggest list of environmentally friendly features could be developed by Elmhurst Memorial Healthcare (EMHC), which is planning to build a hospital on the south side of the city to replace an existing hospital which is near the downtown. To help develop a plan EMHC joined in 2007 Clean Air Counts.

Environmentally friendly design concepts planned for the new campus, according to Safety Officer Debbie Reynolds, include:

• Recycled building construction materials;
• All landscaping irrigated with rainwater captured on campus;
• Rooftop gardens and extensive landscaping throughout the campus to create “a building in a garden” concept;
• Energy efficient heating, air conditioning and plumbing;
• “Smart” lighting throughout the hospital so that lights go off when a room is not occupied;
• Extensive use of regionally available materials for which less fuel is used to transport them.

Reynolds pointed out the list is not a complete one.

“We will continue to evaluate our options as we move forward with plans for the new campus to identify other methods of ‘going green,’” she said. “We have recently assembled a ‘green team’ to evaluate both the current hospital and future campus. That includes various types of recycling and energy conservation.”