“The Environment” is constantly in the news from today’s weather forecast to the latest natural disaster attributed to climate change. Our environment is also where we live and work. Jim Bargen, Box Butte General Hospital chief operations officer and KAB board member, recently discussed sustainability goals. “The hospital is a different animal – we have to be running 24/7 and have to maintain our environment to a certain standard at all times,” he said.
Energywise, BBGH can compare its usage to hospitals anywhere, Bargen explained. Our hospital is in the 50th percentile, he added. BBGH hired an architect and engineer to craft a Strategic Energy Master Plan (SEMP). “We’re looking at some renewable energy options (through master facility planning) for the next 10 years – want them to make a plan to reduce our energy consumption and carbon emissions by 25 percent by 2032. We hope to have the plan in place by Jan. 1, 2023,” Bargen said. Perhaps empty space on the building’s flat roofs or around the campus could host state-of-the art solar panels?
I was one of the first babies born in the new county hospital and have seen many changes and a few additions at the site over the decades. There is an opportunity for the latest, energy efficient technology at each juncture. Since the latest addition, Bargen said BBGH has reduced water consumption significantly in the last five years and updated to LED lights over most of the hospital. “We’re always looking at more energy-efficient equipment as we replace,” he said. “More willing to spend more up front to make it more sustainable.”
There is always room for conservation. Bargen said, “Hospitals are such energy and water hogs.” The newest part of the structure has more options than older sections of the building, however. There is an ongoing process to update controls to implement setbacks that would turn off lights and adjust temperatures automatically without people in a room, for example, among other energy saving features. The project began more than a year ago though Bargen expects to finish before the end of 2022. “Then our maintenance will work on the setbacks. I’m excited about that. I think we’ll have some really good results,” Bargen said. “We have a lot of standards we need to maintain on the environment (such as temperature, humidity).”
As hospital COO, Bargen is a member of the American Society of Healthcare Engineers. As part of a group of facility managers he gets together monthly for a discussion with 8-10 of his peers from throughout the country (Alaska, Washington, east coast states, Colorado). “It is interesting to hear about all the progress out there by state,” he said. Bargen has been involved the past two years. He noted that the Society has a whole library on their website they can utilize. “It has been a really good resource,” he said.
Whether an upgrade proves unique to the Alliance facility or comes through adapting what an engineer perfected in a neighboring state, I look forward to watching how BBGH improves their environment in the coming years as Keep Alliance Beautiful assists in waste reduction through recycling.