Eskenazi Health Achieves LEED® Gold!
Eskenazi Health Among Nation’s Most Environmentally Efficient New Hospital Projects
Health care campus becomes first in the state to achieve LEED® Gold certification.
Indianapolis, Nov. 10, 2015 — Eskenazi Health’s main campus has achieved Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) Gold certification, making it among the first and largest new hospital campuses in the United States and first in the state to achieve this recognition.
Nearly two years after the opening of the Sidney & Lois Eskenazi Hospital and Eskenazi Health campus, which includes the one-of-a-kind sky farm on the rooftop of the Outpatient Care Center and The Commonground, an open-air outdoor plaza, Eskenazi Health has built a reputation for its commitment to creating a cleaner, healthier, more energy-efficient environment.
“Our focus at Eskenazi Health is on promoting health in all its dimensions. Our priority remains the overall health of our community in the broadest possible terms,” said Dr. Lisa Harris, CEO of Eskenazi Health. “We view this environmentally friendly hospital campus as a statement of our commitment to those we serve now as well as generations to come.”
With the recognition as LEED Gold by the U.S. Green Building Council, a third-party verification that recognizes buildings designed and constructed using strategies aimed at improving performance in energy savings, Eskenazi Health has now surpassed its own original goal for the project. In 2010, the system had announced it was seeking LEED Silver certification. Other criteria that go into LEED certification include, water efficiency, improved indoor air quality, stewardship of resources and sensitivity to their impacts. The decision to reuse an old urban site was also one of the many credits the new facility achieved for its environmental sustainability.
“Our sustainability initiatives were a major aspect of the planning and design for the Eskenazi Health campus. We owe a responsibility to our children and our children’s children to protect our environment,” said Matthew Gutwein, president and CEO of Health & Hospital Corporation of Marion County, which operates Eskenazi Health. “We remain committed to being an environmental steward so that Indianapolis becomes a more livable and sustainable city.”
The Eskenazi Health campus was recognized for its use of green space, a parking program for low-emitting and fuel-efficient vehicles as well as for those who choose to carpool to work, water-efficient fixtures, the material used during the build, how construction waste was disposed of and many other elements.