In July of 2011, Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital (JDCH) opened its doors to a new 180,000 SF four-story medical facility. The Children’s Hospital expanded from a pediatric facility within Memorial Regional Hospital to a state-of-the-art freestanding children’s hospital. The new expansion is connected to Memorial Regional Hospital via an elevated walkway, which combines a total of 204 licensed beds, six pediatric operating rooms, radiology services and an entire floor dedicated to pediatric oncology.

 

The new Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital was recently awarded LEED® for New Construction Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). A wonderful achievement for any building, it is much more of an impressive accomplishment for a hospital. Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital is a facility of the Memorial Healthcare System, the fifth largest public health system in the nation – and – is only the second LEED Gold certified Children’s Hospital in the United States!

 

The hospital was designed around a visually dynamic theme of the “power of play” using vivid colors and images, and incorporated a family centered approach to the overall design. JDCH provides quality healthcare services to children and the building actually promotes health through its design. A healthy building is designed using the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) criteria established by the USGBC to construct buildings which are healthy to the environment and the people within the building.

 

The 42 separate LEED points awarded to the Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital involved design and construction items all of which contributed to attaining the LEED Gold certification. Site development, recycled materials and resources, water conservation, energy and atmosphere, and clean indoor environmental quality were all components of the sustainable strategies implemented in the design and construction of the Hospital.

 

The site development LEED strategy included salvaging and totally recycling debris from the demolition of the existing buildings on the site of the new Hospital. Steel, concrete, metal studs, and drywall were separated and delivered to the appropriate recycling facilities.

 

Though waterless urinals are not appropriate to be used within a hospital because of infection control issues, a cistern was designed beneath the parking lot and non-potable water sources were used for irrigation. Recycled water is used in the energy plant.

 

The energy saving attributes of LEED incorporated into the Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital have the ability to help the hospital in an emergency. Energy efficient design of mechanical systems and lighting will allow generators to last for longer periods of time if power is lost during a storm. The use of large areas of windows brings natural light into the working areas of the hospital allowing lights to be turned off during the day if the need arose.

 

Within the category of clean indoor air quality it was very important that construction dust did not contaminate the hospital during construction. Therefore, careful protection methods were taken to wrap and protect all items delivered and stored on the construction site prior to their installation. For example, the open ends of all ductwork were wrapped in plastic until the time of installation so that the AC system was dust free once the systems were turned on.

 

Great care was taken to use recycled materials wherever possible and to use items free from chemical odors. For example, all cabinetry and glue are formaldehyde free and all paints in the facility are odorless (technically known as low VOCs: Volatile Organic Compounds – emitted as gases from certain solids or liquids).

 

Healthcare facilities are dedicated to healing people, dedicated to enhancing the patient experience (reinforced by the attributes of LEED) and now through the acceptance of LEED principles, the sustainability and healing of our planet. Sustainable developments are defined as those that meet present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. The Memorial Healthcare System made this commitment to LEED and sustainable design from the onset of the planning of the Children’s Hospital project.

 

Ultimately, the South Broward Hospital District’s commitment to LEED principles exceeded the new hospital. The District developed its “Go Green” initiative to become a District-wide approach to protecting our environment, lessening our dependence upon toxic chemicals, and eliminating waste while saving money at the same time.

 

A LEED Gold Children’s Hospital is a tribute to the efforts of the entire design, development, owners and construction teams. It is an asset to the City of Hollywood and a source of pride for all of South Florida and the medical community.