Chicago, Ill. – Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center has earned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) ENERGY STAR certification for the eighth consecutive year. The recognition signifies that the building performs in the top 25 percent of similar facilities nationwide for energy efficiency and meets strict energy efficiency performance levels set by the EPA.
Advocate Illinois Masonic was the first hospital in Chicago to receive the prestigious ENERGY STAR award in 2008. It has continually maintained standards for eight years.
“Improving the energy efficiency of our nation’s buildings is critical to protecting our environment,” said Jean Lupinacci, chief of the ENERGY STAR Commercial & Industrial Branch. “From the boiler room to the board room, organizations are leading the way by making their buildings more efficient and earning EPA’s ENERGY STAR certification.”
To earn the ENERGY STAR certification, buildings such as Advocate Illinois Masonic use an average of 35 percent less energy than typical buildings and also release 35 percent less carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Advocate Illinois Masonic improved its energy performance by managing energy strategically across the entire organization and by making cost-effective improvements to its buildings.
"Saving energy and being green is part of our culture throughout the hospital," says Tom Baumstark, Facilities manager at Illinois Masonic Medical Center. "We are proud of this award and have worked very hard to maintain and improve on our energy efficiency initiatives."
To earn the ENERGY STAR, Advocate Illinois Masonic took the following actions:
• Retrofit of the facility's air handlers to variable air volume systems, minimizing energy consumption during low-demand periods
• Installation of hundreds of occupancy sensors which turn lighting off in corridors, conference rooms and offices when not in use
• Installation of lighting controls in areas where there is adequate natural light
• Retrofit of high-efficiency lighting where possible, including the use of LED lamps, compact fluorescent lamps and T-8 and T-5 fluorescent lamps
• Utilization of technology to monitor and control heating, ventilating and air-conditioning system to maximize efficiency, including automation systems, optimization software and variable frequency drives for pumping
EPA’s ENERGY STAR energy performance scale helps organizations assess how efficiently their buildings use energy relative to similar buildings nationwide. A building that scores a 75 or higher on EPA’s 1-100 scale may be eligible for ENERGY STAR certification. Commercial buildings that can earn the ENERGY STAR include offices, bank branches, data centers, financial centers, retail stores, courthouses, hospitals, hotels, K-12 schools, medical offices, supermarkets, dormitories, houses of worship and warehouses.
"Particularly with a 100-year-old facility, receiving this award is truly an honor," Baumstark says. "Buildings that receive the ENERGY STAR recognition have dedicated a lot of effort to their facility and it's something we constantly strive for."
ENERGY STAR was introduced by the 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 65 different kinds of products, 1.4 million new homes, and 20,000 commercial buildings and industrial plants that meet strict energy-efficiency specifications set by the EPA. Over the past twenty years, American families and businesses have saved more than $230 billion on utility bills and prevented more than 1.8 billion metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions with help from ENERGY STAR.
For more information about ENERGY STAR Certification for Commercial Buildings: https://www.energystar.gov
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About Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center is a 408-bed hospital in Chicago with a Level I trauma center and a Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, the highest designations awarded by the state of Illinois. It offers comprehensive inpatient services, including medical, surgical, obstetrics and pediatric care, as well as a full breadth of outpatient services. A recipient of numerous awards for quality and clinical excellence, Illinois Masonic was ranked one of the nation’s 100 Top Hospitals in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014 by Truven Health Analytics, as well as named a recipient of the organization’s Everest Award for National Benchmarks in 2010 and 2013. The medical center has also been named a Leader in the Human Rights Campaign’s Healthcare Equality Index for the past six years, as well as one of the Chicago region’s Best Hospitals by U.S. News & World Report for the past two years. In 2012, the hospital again achieved Magnet designation for excellence and quality in nursing services by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Magnet Recognition Program, as well as certification as a Primary Stroke Center by The Joint Commission. Illinois Masonic is part of Advocate Health Care, a 2014 Truven Health Analytics Top 15 U.S. health care system for quality and clinical performance and the largest provider of health care services in Illinois. For more on Illinois Masonic, visit www.advocatehealth.com/masonic.