Achieving a national milestone wasn't part of the plan when the Providence Newberg Medical Center (PNMC) team embarked on the design of a new $60 million hospital in Newberg, Oregon, but creating a facility that promoted the healthcare system's mission and core values were. The tenets of “respect, compassion, justice, excellence, and stewardship,” as well as a deep commitment to the community, dovetailed beautifully with sustainable practices.

Although Providence Health&Services (PH&S) hadn't previously integrated green measures into any of its projects, Director of Energy Management Services Richard Beam saw the health system's first new facility in 30 years as a perfect place to begin. From the outset, however, PNMC faced budget pressure and the construction management team considered green measures financially unfeasible. Beam was determined to find a way, and he rallied together public grants and government incentives to support the effort. PH&S selected the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program as their framework and hired Portland, Oregon-based Green Building Services, Inc., to guide and orchestrate the LEED process. The phenomenal success of the project resulted from a proven approach, buy-in from all parties, and the willingness to challenge assumptions

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This article will trace the development of PNMC and its pursuit of LEED Gold certification, as well as offering insights that can be applied to any LEED healthcare project.

Compass points

When undertaking any healthcare project, it is vital to establish a clear direction by identifying what's important to the organization and use this information to define specific goals. For PH&S, its mission and core values provided a strong platform for the project's sustainable objectives.

“Building green is in keeping with our core value of stewardship,” explains PNMC Chief Executive Larry Bowe. “It's important to us as an organization to be excellent stewards in respect to our environment.” With these goals as the starting point, it was easy to extrapolate which green strategies would serve as an outward expression of these values.

At this point in the process, it is important to bring together all stakeholders in a green kick-off meeting such as an eco-charrette. The group should include key players drawn from all facets of the project: administrators and facilities department, hospital's senior leadership, representatives from the board, medical, and nursing staff and the community, the contractor, and all design team disciplines. Green Building Services facilitated the eco-charrette for PNMC that included about 60 people. Through their participation in this meeting, all members gained an understanding of the green goals and became part of the effort.

It is also important to recognize that challenging traditional approaches can make people uncomfortable. Set a neutral tone for the meeting and create a forum where everyone can share their ideas without judgment. New advocates of green practices often emerge once their concerns are addressed.

The stakeholders in this case—PH&S, Green Building Services, Mahlum Architects, Ward Gibbons Souza, Glumac International, Degenkolb Engineers, Larry Anderson Engineering, Inc., Engineering Economics, Inc., and Mayer/Reed—created a “laundry list” of viable alternatives. The outcome of the eco-charrette and the LEED checklist led PNMC stakeholders to challenge themselves and pursue a LEED Silver rating for PNMC.

Maintain the bearings

Implementation should begin with the simple ideas. Adopting the easiest solutions before tackling more complex ones is especially wise if it's an organization's first green project. Once they see cost-neutral sustainable practices incorporated without major efforts, the stakeholders will be more inclined to go to the next level.