Advocate Health Care receives 2012 Environmental Leadership Circle Award

Maximizing Energy Efficiency in a Century-old Hospital

At Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center, lights turn off when rooms and hallways aren’t in use. Sophisticated software on a building automation system monitors and maximizes energy use in heating and air-conditioning equipment. The Engineering Department has a nine-page checklist of energy-conservation strategies. The medical center has a tradition of energy efficiency and successful green initiatives. Illinois Masonic Medical Center is a 408-bed acute care hospital on Chicago’s north side and is part of Advocate Health Care, the largest provider of health care services in Illinois.

For the fourth consecutive year, Illinois Masonic Medical Center earned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s prestigious ENERGY STAR designation in 2011, ranking second among 41 ENERGY STAR hospitals. That rank is especially significant because the hospital’s oldest buildings are nearly 100 years old. Green Team Co-chair David Haas, who works in the engineering department, credits a green culture—staff members at all levels feel empowered to share energy conservation ideas and participate in new initiatives. The medical center also uses less energy per square foot than 96 percent of U.S. hospitals. The corresponding reduction in greenhouse gas emissions equates to removing more than 3,400 cars from the road for the year.

Upgrades for Major Energy Savings

The hospital is constantly striving to create an even greener and more energy-efficient environment. Recent improvements have included:

• Developing an Energy Management Checklist with nearly 150 ways to reduce energy consumption throughout the hospital
• Converting about 4,000 CFL and incandescent light bulbs to LED
• Retrofitting the facility’s air handlers to variable air volume systems, minimizing energy consumption during low-demand periods
• Installing hundreds of occupancy sensors, which turn lighting off in unused corridors, conference rooms and offices
• Installing lighting controls in areas with adequate natural light
• Adding a high-efficiency, computerized boiler, which monitors discharge gasses, sets maximum burner efficiencies and minimizes exhaust gas discharges
• Purchasing a highly efficient chiller that uses magnetic, oil-less bearings, reducing energy consumption by more than $30,000 a year
• Installing variable speed drives on kitchen exhaust hoods to monitor usage, saving about $20,000 a year in energy costs
• Monitoring and controlling heating, ventilation and air-condition systems to maximize efficiency, using automation systems, optimization software and variable frequency drives for fan and pump speed control

Supporting a Green Environment

Energy conservation is just one of many environmental efforts at Illinois Masonic Medical Center. Vice president of medical management Robert Zadylak, MD, has led a mandate for electronic medical record adoption by all physicians practicing at the hospital. About 40,000 patient notes a year are now completed electronically rather than on paper.

The hospital’s Green Team Co-chair Katie Wickman, MS, RN, and member Rochelle Petefish, RN, CCRN, have worked with other Advocate Health Care environmental stewardship leaders to establish a list of commonly used patient care items that are recyclable. The Green Team has educated nurses on patient care item recycling and ensured proper bins and signage are available on all units.

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