First LEED Gold Hospital In U.S. Opens in Oregon

NEWBURG, Ore. — The recently completed Providence Newberg Medical Center here is the first LEED gold certified hospital in the United States. New Jersey-based contractor Skanska USA Building Inc. estimates that the “build green” portion of the $70 million project will take 14 months to amortize, and that the facility will save nearly 26 percent in annual energy costs.

The contractor provided additional value to the hospital owner through construction-related techniques that included:

• Diverting more than 75 percent of post-construction waste generated during the project-building process;
• Using building materials with recycled content in more than 10 percent of the project’s construction; and
• Purchasing all construction materials within 500 miles of the work site, thereby saving on the energy cost of long-range transport.

Occupancy sensors, daylight controls and centralized lighting control systems turn off lights when spaces are unoccupied. All public spaces and waiting areas include use of natural light through design and feature views of nearby hillsides and natural scenery.

Additional highlights of the green medical facility include filling the building with 100 percent outside air through a unique ventilation system, creating a dramatically healthier indoor air quality for patients, visitors and employees. The hospital meets all its electrical needs by purchasing “green power” that is 50 percent wind, 25 percent geothermal and 25 percent low-impact hydroelectric energy. Providence Newberg Medical Center is the only hospital in the nation to purchase 100 percent green power.

The hospital also participates in the Dispatchable Standby Generation program of Portland General Electric, which allows PNMC to sell power produced by its two 750- kilowatt emergency generators to PGE in times of peak demand for the utility. The energy produced by the generators can power up to 3,000 homes.