Consumption reduction places Providence Swedish Issaquah among U.S. hospitals leading energy stewardship

Our Issaquah campus was recently awarded an ENERGY STAR rating of 99. 

Providence Swedish is committed to our award-winning energy use reduction and sustainability efforts. Our stewardship garnered additional recognition recently when our Issaquah campus reached a significant milestone with an all-time low energy intensity usage rating (EUI) of 97.7 EUI. EUI measures the quantity of energy required per unit output or activity; using less energy to produce a product reduces the energy intensity. The rating puts Issaquah at 40% lower in its energy usage than the median hospital EUI across the nation. The campus also received an ENERGY STAR score of 99, putting it in the top 1% of hospitals in the U.S. for efficient energy use. 

"The entire facilities team at Issaquah has driven this work," says Frank Papp, sr. sustainability program manager, Providence Swedish Puget Sound. "This team has continued to drive the score down month-over-month by dialing back the energy usage to include air exchange setbacks, retrofitting LED lighting and calibrating our heating and cooling systems."

Our Issaquah campus was designed with an initial target EUI of 150 in 2011. Since its construction, the campus has been able to continuously reduce that initial EUI target. Leaders credit facilities teams and caregivers for successful energy use reduction efforts, reserving special praise for skilled and engaged facilities operators and leaders. Campus teams have consistently prioritized low-and-no-cost energy efficiency measures.

Caregivers throughout Issaquah also contribute daily to this effort by shutting off lights, closing doors and blinds, and keeping room temperature setpoints where they need to be and assisting with appropriate scheduling, which supports keeping the building comfortable while saving energy in unoccupied areas.

Leaders noted that these energy reductions could not be accomplished without the partnership with Puget Sound Energy, the full support of organizational leadership, and collaboration with key departments including environmental services, nursing supervisors, surgical services, nutrition, labor and delivery, and more. 

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About Providence Swedish

Providence Swedish has served the Puget Sound region since the first Providence hospital opened in Seattle in 1877 and the first Swedish hospital opened in 1910. The two organizations affiliated in 2012 and today comprise the largest health care delivery system in Western Washington, with 22,000 caregivers, eight hospitals and 244 clinics. A not-for-profit family of organizations, Providence Swedish provides more than $406 million in community benefit in the Puget Sound Region each year. The health system offers a comprehensive range of services and specialty and subspecialty care in a number of clinical areas, including cancer care, cardiovascular health, neurosciences, orthopedics, digestive health and women’s and children’s care.