Hervey Bay’s St Stephen’s Hospital has been celebrated for its tech-savvy and environmentally sustainable design by being named a finalist in the 2015 Premier’s Sustainability Awards held last night in Brisbane.
The $96 million building incorporates a raft of green features, including rainwater harvesting, a chemical-free kitchen, solar powered operating theatre lights and was recently awarded winner at the 2015 Master Builders awards.
St Stephen’s Hospital General Manager and Director of Nursing Amanda Cruwys said the hospital is very proud of the building’s green credentials and although not winning the Premier’s Sustainability Award, to be up there with a number of other amazing sustainable businesses and organisations was excellent recognition.
“Environmentally sustainable design (ESD) principles were incorporated from the outset into the hospital, including a range of passive and active measures,” she said.
“For instance, the building is orientated to maximise passive solar design and has ample shading, light colours to reflect heat as well as high-performance insulation and window glazing.
“We also used a range of design and technological features to maximise water and energy efficiency. The roof is used to harvest rainwater for landscape irrigation, solar panels power the operating theatre lights, and light sensors detect movement to turn LED lights on and off automatically.”
With a roof area of about 10,000m2, (or the size of the playing surface at Suncorp Stadium), the hospital can collect up to 110,000 litres of rainwater that is stored under the buildings in a labyrinth of pipe work.
Within the hospital, hot water from the Central Sterilisation Department equipment is recycled and used to re-humidify cooled air for the operating theatre air-conditioning units, saving both water and energy.
Enhanced metering is also used across the hospital to monitor usage and therefore help reduce consumption.
“Each manager is able to track exactly how much water and electricity their department uses per month. For example, we can tell whether there is a water leak or if a new piece of equipment is more water efficient than the existing equipment,“ Ms Cruwys said.
“We’re thrilled that St Stephen’s can be so proactive in the area of environmental sustainability and being a finalist in the Premier’s Sustainability Awards bares testament to that.”
Director of Missions at UnitingCare Health, Rev. Helen Dick added, "A member of the Global Green & Healthy Hospital network UnitingCare Health wants to be a leader in sustainable practices. We are extremely proud of the environmentally friendly features built in to our fully digital hospital."