Saint Joseph Mount Sterling Medical Office Building Receives Energy to Care Award

MOUNT STERLING, Ky. (Dec. 8, 2020) – The Saint Joseph Mount Sterling Medical Office Building is a proud recipient of The American Society for Health Care Engineering (ASHE) 2020 Energy to Care Award. This distinction is reserved for the select few health care facilities that reduce energy consumption by 10 percent in a single year or 15 percent over two years. The facility has been recognized for reducing its energy intensity by a 22 percent energy reduction in 2019 compared to 2017.

“Our commitment to the sustainability goals is ingrained in our daily operation and patient care,” said Jennifer Nolan, president, Saint Joseph Mount Sterling. “We’re proud of our efforts to reduce energy consumption because it is also good for our community and our planet.”

To achieve these results, the facility partnered with a Kentucky-based energy management services company to utilize advanced building analytical tools to identify numerous opportunities that were leading to increased energy usage and comfort issues. The teams’ collaboration has led to the following savings since 2018:

• 260,000 kWh – electricity savings
• 1,600 MMBtu – natural gas savings
• 420 MTCO2e – carbon emission reduction, which equates to emissions from:
•         91 passenger vehicles driven for one year
•         54 homes' energy use for one year
• $30,000 in energy cost savings
  

In addition to the high-level engagement of the facility staff, the existing building equipment and controls were optimized with state-of-the art equipment and controls platform. Some of those optimizations include:

• Scheduled and optimized boiler sequences
• Scheduled and optimized two roof top units to allow them to use outside air to cool and heat when temperatures permit.
• Implemented adaptive duct pressure and discharge air temperature reset sequences on roof top units
• Reviewed and optimized air flow requirements in spaces to alleviate overcooling and reheating by resetting areas to design.
• Reconfigured roof top exhaust fan sequences to alleviate building pressure issues that also resulted in reduced fan run hours.

To learn more about the Energy to Care 2020 Award winners, visit https://www.energytocare.org/energy-care-awards-ashes-gold-standard-award-health-care-facility-energy-savings.

About CHI Saint Joseph Health
CHI Saint Joseph Health, part of Catholic Health Initiatives, is one of the largest and most comprehensive health systems in the Commonwealth of Kentucky with 135 locations in 20 counties, including hospitals, physician groups, clinics, primary care centers, specialty institutes and home health agencies. In total, the health system serves patients in 35 counties statewide. CHI Saint Joseph Health is dedicated to building healthier communities by elevating patient care through an integrated physical and behavioral health delivery system. CHI Saint Joseph Health embodies a strong mission and faith-based heritage and works through local partnerships to expand access to care in the communities it serves.

About Saint Joseph Mount Sterling
Saint Joseph Mount Sterling is a 42-bed community hospital located in Mount Sterling, KY. Established in 1918, the facility serves residents of Montgomery, Bath, Menifee, Powell and Rowan counties. An investment of $60 million opened the current facility in 2011.

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