Wishard announces plan for LEED Silver certification
- Construction, LEED Certified, News
- April 15, 2010
- admin
America’s third-largest safety net hospital system – and Marion County’s longest-tenured – will rank among its most advanced in energy efficiency and environmental design when The New Wishard Hospital opens at the end of 2013.
Mayor Gregory Ballard and Marion County Health Department Director Dr. Virginia Caine joined Wishard officials on Wednesday afternoon to announce that the new facilities would pursue Silver certification, the third-highest level on the United States Green Building Council’s (USGBC) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) rating scale. Accomplishing the feat would make Wishard one of only 10 newly constructed hospitals in America to achieve LEED® certification at the level of Silver or higher, and the only one of its kind in Indiana.
Indianapolis Mayor Gregory A. Ballard commends Wishard for its plans to build The New Wishard to be LEED Silver certified by the United States Green Building Council.
“The New Wishard project is a central component to the future of sustainability in Indianapolis and represents our commitment to creating a cleaner, healthier, more energy-efficient city,” said Mayor Ballard. “I commend Wishard’s plan to build one of the nation’s most environmentally friendly facilities as we strive to become America’s most livable big city and take a leading role in creating jobs for our growing economy.”
Wishard makes the announcement as workers continue demolition on the vacant former Larue D. Carter Psychiatric Hospital at the site of the new hospital.
“When so many of us stood in support of a new Wishard last fall, we weren’t merely supporting a better hospital – we were supporting a healthier, better Indianapolis community,” said Dr. Caine. “Days like today show even more how Wishard will improve the health and wellness of Indianapolis and Marion County.”
Wishard’s decision to reuse an old urban site is one of the many credits the new facilities achieve for their environmental sustainability.
“The New Wishard hospital that the voters of Marion County overwhelmingly approved will be a beacon of health and wellness for Indianapolis,” said Matthew Gutwein, president and CEO of Health & Hospital Corporation of Marion County, which operates Wishard. “Wishard is committed to exercising environmental stewardship so that Indianapolis becomes a more livable and sustainable city.”
“Wishard’s focus is people. We must consider the needs not only of our current patients but also of future generations of our city’s residents,” said Dr. Lisa Harris, CEO and medical director of Wishard Health Services. “Our priority is on the overall health of the community in the broadest terms. Wishard’s decision to build an environmentally friendly hospital is critical to that mission.”
Plans for The New Wishard include numerous design elements and operations that will contribute to its certification as one of America’s greenest new hospitals including pollution control during construction, energy savings through efficient design, water usage savings, outside air circulation and features for staff including bike racks, showers and designated parking for alternative fuel vehicles and high occupancy carpool and vanpool vehicles.
The New Wishard design elements are described as planned and may change due to construction and other factors. Certification is subject to USGBC audit upon project completion.
LEED® is an internationally-recognized building certification providing third-party verification that a building was designed and constructed using strategies aimed at improving performance in energy savings, water efficiency, carbon emissions reduction, improved indoor air quality and stewardship of resources and sensitivity to their impacts.
The project to construct a new Wishard will create 4,400 jobs and will transform the landscape of healthcare in Indianapolis.
Marion County voters approved construction of a new Wishard in the Nov. 3, 2009 election, with 85 percent support for the measure, and Wishard began work immediately. Wishard plans to complete the new facility at the end 2013.