For the last 13 years, the State of Ohio’s Office of Energy Efficiency has honored individuals, businesses and organizations that implement innovative approaches to promote efficiency and save energy. Most recently, Humility of Mary Health Partners, St. Elizabeth Health Center and Siemens Building Technologies, Inc. were recognized, receiving the 2006 Governor’s Award for Excellence in Energy—a joint effort that dramatically cut energy use at the facility and helped the hospital save approximately $5 million in avoided utility and operational costs from 2002 to 2005.
According to Governor Bob Taft’s press announcement, “The efforts and achievements of the Excellence in Energy award winners positively impact our environment and improve the quality of life for all Ohioans. I congratulate each recipient on their efforts and contributions, which are fostering the increased use of renewable energy sources and the promotion of energy efficiency in our homes and businesses.
”The State of Ohio, through the Ohio Department of Development’s Office of Energy Efficiency (OEE), develops and administers programs that promote the natural linkage between energy, economics and the environment. The OEE established the Governor’s Award for Excellence in Energy to support the Ohio Energy Strategy which called for a competitive awards program to recognize achievements in this area by individuals, companies and other organizations.
“We are extremely proud to receive the Governor Excellence in Energy Award,” says Wayne Tennant, vice president Support Services, Humility of Mary Health Partners, St. Elizabeth Hospital. “But the honor is to be shared equally with Siemens—without their counsel and guidance we would not have been able to reach our energy savings goals and be in a position to accept this honor from the Governor and the State of Ohio.”
Administrators of the 550-bed facility located in Youngstown, Ohio teamed with Siemens to reduce operating costs by boosting the energy efficiency of the facility’s heating ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, and upgrading lighting and other elements of building’s envelope. Through a consultative and comprehensive approach, Siemens and St. Elizabeth Health Center reviewed all aspects of daily operations and the technologies associated with them to find ways to save energy and lessen the healthcare facility’s impact on the environment.
So far, facility improvements have generated some 14,700,000 kilowatt hours of electricity savings. According to Siemens, over the four-year period of the contract this has reduced emissions of typical greenhouse gases (CO2, NOX and SO2) by more than 31 million pounds.*From this process a number of projects emerged including: the construction of a new central cooling plant; the redesign and replacement of laundry operations; window replacements and lighting retrofits. Waste-stream processes were also revamped including the migration from incineration to more environmentally friendly solutions such as waste reduction and recycling schemes, new water conservation and reuse methods.
According to Paul Lajeunesse, Siemens Building Technologies, “In today's competitive health care environment, hospitals and medical centers are challenged both to reduce operating costs and to improve patient care and comfort. Health care energy costs are staggering—According to the U.S. Department of Energy medical facilities spend $5.3 billion annually on energy, and rank second only to the food service industry in intensity of energy usage. Hospital systems are finding that investing in energy savings is a great prescription for cost containment—with fast paybacks, ongoing returns, and often improved patient care and comfort.”
Humility of Mary Health Partners is a region of Catholic Healthcare Partners, the largest health system in Ohio and the seventh largest not-for-profit health system in the United States. In 2005, St. Elizabeth Health Center ranked 50th in the nation in urology in U.S. News & World Report’s 16th annual edition of “America’s Best Hospitals." Humility of Mary Health Partners received a 2005 Governor's Healthy Ohioans Worksite Award (gold level of achievement) in recognition of its outstanding employee health and wellness program. St. Elizabeth Health Center was also recognized as one of the "Most Wired Hospitals" in the country by U.S. News & World Report