Advocate Lutheran General Hospital, Advocate Lutheran General Children’s Hospital’s new patient tower features green roof
(May 27, 2009) —
The roof of the new patient tower at Advocate Lutheran General Hospital/Advocate Lutheran General Children’s Hospital now sports a coating of soil, prairie grass seeds and nine varieties of Alpine sedum, a special low-ground-cover plant that is easy to maintain and drought tolerant.
Although the role of the tower’s roof-top ‘garden’ is not for leisurely strolls, visits or viewing, it plays an important part in helping reduce storm water runoff from the hospital site.
The planted roof is one of the special features that Lutheran General has added to the new patient tower in its quest to capture gold Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification for the structure from the U.S. Green Building Council. Lutheran General will be the first hospital in the state to achieve this demanding national standard.
A dedication ceremony and community open house for Lutheran General’s new eight-story, 192-single-room patient tower will be held from 1:30 to 4 p.m. Sunday, July 12. Persons interested in attending the event should call 1-800-323-8622 (1-800-3-ADVOCATE) by July 3 to make reservations.
During the open house, attendees will have the opportunity to learn about many ways the new patient tower respects the environment while providing healthier, more comfortable surroundings for patients and their families.
Visitors also will tour an interactive Why Green? Gallery in the tower that shows what Lutheran General is doing to help the community and environment stay healthy.
“Achieving gold LEED certification will demonstrate that our new tower provides high performance health care surroundings for patients that are environmentally responsive, resource efficient and community sensitive,” said David Stark, president of Advocate Lutheran General Hospital/Advocate Lutheran General Children’s Hospital.
The patient tower is on target with meeting standards in six key areas to achieve gold LEED status:
Sustainable site development – Storm water runoff will be reduced from the hospital site because of the patient tower’s green roof. During an average rain, the roof will retain 50 percent of the water that falls on it. The green roof also will help insulate the tower. In addition, the driveway in front of the hospital will capture water under the pavement. Light-colored paving and roofing materials will help reduce heat from building surfaces.
Water efficiency – Native drought-resistant plantings outside the hospital will be irrigated with recovered storm water.
Energy efficiency – The building, its mechanical and electrical systems will reduce energy use by 21 percent.
Conservation of materials and resources – Recycled, locally produced and environmentally sensitive materials were used throughout the tower. These include recycled vinyl flooring, carpeting, steel, terrazzo and Lyptus wood paneling, a fast-growing hardwood. More than 92 percent of the construction waste from the patient tower project was recycled.
Indoor environmental quality – Low-VOC (volatile organic compound) paints, sealants, adhesives, plastics and carpeting were used to improve indoor air quality. In addition, patients and hospital staff within the tower will enjoy increased outside views and more natural lighting.
Innovation and design – About 43 percent of the patient tower is composed of recycled materials and more than 50 percent of the site is vegetated open space. Non-chemical cooling tower water treatment will be used and LEED-accredited professionals worked on the project.
Patients and visitors will not be able to see the tower’s green roof, but the same plants growing there will be placed later this year on top of the hospital’s new entrance link that connects the Parkside Center and Yacktman Children’s Pavilion with the hospital. The roof of the link will be visible from all of the family lounges on the west side of the patient tower.
Lutheran General Hospital is a 617-bed teaching, research and referral hospital, Level I trauma center, and one of the largest hospitals in the Chicago area. It also is home to Lutheran General Children’s Hospital, the only children’s hospital in the northwest suburbs and a major regional referral center for a broad range of infant and pediatric services.
Lutheran General is one of the most nationally recognized hospitals in the greater north and northwest suburban region of Chicago. For the 11th year, it was selected as one of the nation’s best hospitals and top 15 teaching institutions by the 2008 Thomson Reuters 100 Top Hospitals: National Benchmarks study. Only six hospitals in the United States made the list that many times. Lutheran General also was rated for nine consecutive years by US News & World Report as one of ‘America’s Best Hospitals,’ and received ‘top 50 in the nation’ ratings in many specialties.
Earlier this year, Lutheran General was notified that it had achieved the best overall surgical morbidity ranking in the country from the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) of the American College of Surgeons. It also was presented with a “Get With the Guidelines” gold award from the American Heart Association for its commitment and success in implementing a higher standard of cardiac care for patients hospitalized with coronary artery disease.
In addition, the hospital was the first in the north/northwest suburban Chicago to be awarded the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s (ANCC) prestigious Magnet designation, the highest honor and level of nursing excellence in the nation.
Lutheran General Hospital is part of Advocate Health Care, based in Oak Brook, Illinois, which is the largest health care provider in the state and one of the nation’s top health care systems.
