St. Joseph's Hospital-North Becomes First Full-Service Hospital in Florida to Achieve LEED® Certification

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Jan 04, 2011, 04:19 ET

Hospital Certified "Green" For Evidence-Based Design and Construction

TAMPA, Fla., Jan. 4, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- St. Joseph's Hospital-North in Lutz recently achieved LEED® Certified, making it the first acute care hospital in Florida and among the first in the nation to achieve LEED certification.

The hospital was designed with an environmentally sustainable philosophy to create a landscape of open space, providing habitat for wildlife and natural views for patients.

The environmentally friendly building is made of materials that support energy conservation and clean air with low chemical emissions and recycled content. The soothing elements of the outdoors are brought indoors creating a calm, peaceful, healing environment for patients.

"Research shows environmentally sustainable buildings contribute to improved health, so having a green hospital helps St. Joseph's achieve its vision of creating a healthy environment for the community it serves," said Colleen Mackin, executive Director, Florida Gulf Coast Chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council.

St. Joseph's Hospital-North concentrated on key categories to achieve green building certification developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). The USGBC provides third-party verification that buildings are designed and constructed using strategies aimed at improving performance in energy and water efficiency, emissions, indoor environmental quality and materials and resources.

Energy saving strategies include individual controls for lighting and heating to promote productivity, comfort and well-being of building occupants. High-efficiency systems that reduce energy consumption will use 12 percent less energy than a standard building. Refrigerants were selected to minimize the impact on ozone depletion and global warming.

"Buildings are one of the largest consumers of resources and energy in this country," said Paula McGuiness, chief operating officer of St. Joseph's Hospital-North. "St. Joseph's Hospitals and BayCare Health System believe in being leaders of environmental stewardship, innovation and corporate responsibility."

Other examples of consideration for the environment include:

Preferred parking for low-emission and fuel-efficient vehicles.
A roofing system that helps reduce the heat effect and keep temperatures cooler.
Low-flow water fixtures that use 20 percent less water than standard buildings.
Landscape that is maintained with 100 percent reclaimed water from retention ponds.
Use of low-emission paints, adhesives, sealants, fabrics and carpets inside of the building which provide cleaner air to breathe.
Use of construction materials from local sources, which supports the regional economy and reduces environmental impacts from transportation.

St. Joseph's Hospital-North, part of BayCare Health System, offers emergency care, surgical services, imaging and diagnostic facilities, intensive care and more in a peaceful, healing and family-centered environment. Located just north of Tampa in Lutz, the all-digital, state-of-the-art facility is specially designed to make patients and visitors as comfortable as possible during their hospital experience.

For more information, please call (813) 443-2046 or visit us at StJosephsNorth.com and Facebook.

About BayCare Health System

BayCare Health System is a leading community-based health system in the Tampa Bay area. Composed of a network of 10 not-for-profit hospitals, outpatient facilities and services such as imaging, lab, behavioral health and home health care, BayCare provides expert medical care throughout a patient's lifetime. With more than 219 access points conveniently located throughout Tampa Bay, BayCare connects patients to a complete range of preventive, diagnostic and treatment services for any health care need.

BayCare's family of hospitals are: Mease Countryside, Mease Dunedin, Morton Plant, Morton Plant North Bay, St. Anthony's, St. Joseph's, St. Joseph's Children's, St. Joseph's Hospital-North, St. Joseph's Women's, and South Florida Baptist. For more information, visit BayCare on the Web at www.BayCare.org.

SOURCE BayCare Health System