Nov. 8, 2011
For the second time in the last four years, TriHealth’s Bethesda North Hospital has been recognized by the American Society for Healthcare Engineering (ASHE) of the American Hospital Association for cutting energy consumption more than 10 percent – an accomplishment that not only helps the environment but also saves hospitals money.
The recognition from ASHE is part of the Society’s Energy Efficiency Commitment (E2C) program, which encourages hospitals across the country to reduce their energy consumption by 10 percent or more in support of the goals of the Environmental Protection Agency's ENERGY STAR® Challenge. ASHE recognized the following hospitals in the fall of 2011 for their leadership in reducing energy consumption over a 12-month period:
TriHealth Engineering & Maintenance Manager for Bethesda North Hospital Rich Hertlein said working with an energy consultant helped the hospital focus on its goals.
“For TriHealth, we were able to achieve energy savings by making significant improvements through controlling our HVAC equipment,” he said. “We developed a method to track energy consumption, analyzing each system to ensure maximum efficiency. Then, we created a consistent control strategy enabling our systems to work together, rather than against each other.”
The four hospitals — which were recognized by ASHE as part of National Health Care Facilities and Engineering week from Oct. 23-29 — used various strategies to save energy. Three of the facilities — Baptist Hospital, St. Francis Eastside and Bethesda North Hospital — were previously recognized through the program for lowering energy consumption and were recognized again for saving even more energy.
“Working with an energy consultant also helped our hospital focus on our goals,” added Hertlein. “Our team understands our strategy and looks forward to helping our system sustain the gains we have already seen well into the future.”
For more information, please contact Joe Kelley at 513-569-6703.