Energy Efficient Designation a First for Kaiser Permanente Medical Facilities
PASADENA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Kaiser Permanente’s West Los Angeles Medical Center has received the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s ENERGY STAR certification, the national symbol for superior energy efficiency and environmental protection. This signifies that the building’s energy performance rates in the top 25 percent of facilities nationwide.
"We believe a healthy environment is a critical component of a person's overall health, so our efforts to protect the environment through energy efficient products and practices are a natural extension of our mission to keep people healthy,” said Nor Jemjemian, chief operating officer, Kaiser Foundation Hospitals and Health Plans for the West Los Angeles Kaiser Permanente facility.
“The EPA’s ENERGY STAR certification illustrates that Kaiser Permanente focuses on the health and care of our environment,” Jemjemian added. “We are pleased to accept the certification for our efforts which have also yielded lower energy costs and helped lower our operating costs.”
The 17-acre West Los Angeles Medical Center at 6041 Cadillac Ave. includes a full-service hospital, emergency services and outpatient medical offices. The hospital has 305 licensed hospital beds, 13 operating rooms, and a state-of-the-art, five-story, in-patient hospital tower that opened in July 2007.
The ENERGY STAR honor is part of an ongoing effort by Kaiser Permanente to make all of its facilities more energy efficient. In 2009, Kaiser Permanente's 20-story regional headquarters building at 1950 Franklin St. in downtown Oakland earned the designation.
These energy-efficiency efforts are part of a larger Kaiser Permanente green buildings initiative that involves growing use of solar energy and fuel-cell technology, greater use of natural light in new construction, low-water landscaping, and use of low-emission flooring, carpeting and paints.
To earn the ENERGY STAR, Kaiser Permanente West Los Angeles implemented numerous energy-saving measures, including:
- Replacing all 3,600 light bulbs and ballasts to energy saving fluorescent bulbs throughout the West LA medical campuses, parking garages and local medical office buildings to save nearly 2.7 million kW of energy yearly.
- Coating northeast and southwest windows with shading to deflect sunlight away from buildings and reduce energy used for air conditioning.
- Analyzing and reducing the set-points for heating and cooling systems to align with industry standards.
- Implementing a policy change requiring all vendors and equipment purchased by materials management to have ENERGY STAR designations.
- Proactively taking advantage of all City of Los Angeles Department of Water and Power rebate programs to increase the number of energy-saving appliances within the medical complex.
“Improving the energy efficiency of our nation’s industrial facilities is critical to protecting our environment,” said Jean Lupinacci, chief of the ENERGY STAR Commercial and Industrial Branch. “From the plant floor to the board room, organizations are leading the way by making their facilities more efficient and earning EPA’s ENERGY STAR certification.”
Kaiser Permanente’s West Los Angeles complex will be added to the EPA’s online registry of buildings which have earned the ENERGY STAR (www.energystar.gov/BuildingList). An ENERGY STAR plaque will also be given to Kaiser Permanente.
About ENERGY STAR Certification
ENERGY STAR was introduced by EPA in 1992 as a voluntary, market-based partnership to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through energy efficiency. Today, the ENERGY STAR label can be found on more than 60 different kinds of products as well as new homes and commercial and industrial buildings that meet strict energy-efficiency specifications set by the EPA. For more information about ENERGY STAR Certification for Industrial Facilities: www.energystar.gov/labeledbuildings
About Kaiser Permanente
Kaiser Permanente is committed to helping shape the future of health care. We are recognized as one of America’s leading health care providers and not-for-profit health plans. Founded in 1945, our mission is to provide high quality, affordable health care services to improve the health of our members and the communities we serve. We currently serve 3.4 million members in Southern California. Care for members and patients is focused on their total health and guided by their personal physicians, specialists and team of caregivers. Our expert and caring medical teams are empowered and supported by industry-leading technology advances and tools for health promotion, disease prevention, state-of-the art care delivery and world-class chronic disease management. Kaiser Permanente is dedicated to care innovations, clinical research, health education and the support of community health. For more information, go to: www.kp.org/newscenter.
CONTACT:
Kaiser Permanente
Southern California Region
Socorro Serrano
Office: 626-405-3004
Mobile: 323-627-5595
or
West Los Angeles Medical Center
Maria Aguilar
Office: 323-857-4496
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