From monitoring its water use daily to using LED technologies for lighting inside and outside the hospital, Northumberland Hills Hospital (NHH) in Cobourg is being touted for its environmental efforts.
The west Northumberland hospital has been recognized by the Canadian Coalition of Green Health Care for its ongoing work toward energy conservation and environmental responsibility.
The Canadian Coalition for Green Health Care works with health care facilities to share green health care best practices and to support organizations interested in enhancing their environmental responsibility and becoming better equipped to deal with the unique challenges facing health service organizations.
To be considered for the Green Health Care Awards, NHH was required to track its performance against key indicators also measured by hospital peers on a national scorecard maintained by the coalition known as the Green Hospital Scorecard.
How does a hospital make strides on a daily basis to become more environmentally responsible and conserve energy?
Chuck Cudmore, NHH’s director of plant operations, shared a few examples with kawarthaNOW.
“NHH’s combined heat and power system is one example of a step we have taken in recent years to improve energy performance,” Cudmore said. “Since this unit has been operationalized, it has significantly impacted annual energy and greenhouse gas performance.”
Cudmore pointed to the hospital’s interior and exterior lighting systems as another example. “We’ve installed LED technologies, which help in reducing the energy required to light these fixtures and also reduce maintenance costs.
“Our energy performance is monitored regularly, with preference given to design and construction practices that incorporate energy efficient considerations.”
NHH has held staff training sessions on how employees can make changes that can improve efficiencies.
When it comes to water use, the hospital’s consumption of the resource is monitored daily, Cudmore noted.
“NHH is diligent in looking at water conservation measures,” he added.
The Green Hospital Scorecard is the only comprehensive health care environmental performance benchmarking tool in Canada, measuring energy conservation, water conservation, waste management and recycling, corporate commitment, and pollution prevention, NHH noted in a media release.
NHH’s recognitions in the 2022 Green Hospital Scorecard are for water excellence, waste management, and leadership.
“As we experience first-hand the evidence of climate change, it is vitally important to continue making a conscious effort to protect the environment through the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions,” said Susan Walsh, NHH president and CEO, in a statement.
“NHH remains committed to always improving energy and water usage at our hospital through innovative solutions that not only maintain a continuum of operations and services but are also environmentally sustainable.”
Chad Gyorfi, vice-president and chief financial officer at NHH, said the awards “are a testament to the dedication of our facilities and engineering team, who work hard to reduce NHH’s overall carbon footprint by continually prioritizing greener solutions for the hospital.”
To learn more about the Canadian Coalition for Green Health Care, visit greenhealthcare.ca.
