Dell Childrens’ Medical Center becomes first hospital with LEED Platinum

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Opened in June 2007, the hospital has an eco-friendly design that decreases pollutants, makes sunlight more accessible, enhances air quality and helps save water and electricity.

Robert Bonar, president and chief executive officer of the medical center said: “Being a green hospital has a profound, measurable effect on healing. What’s good for the environment and good for our Mueller neighbors is also good for our patients.”

To obtain the LEED designation, the hospital achieved the necessary ratings in five categories.

For water conservation, the hospital incorporated low flow plumbing fixtures and utilized reclaimed water for irrigation.

For energy conservation, the medical center adopted energy efficiency measures that provided sufficient power to fuel nearly 1,800 houses.

The hospital achieved indoor environmental quality and lighting as most of the interior space was 32 feet from the window, and motion and natural light sensors were used to shut down unneeded lights.

The hospital was considered a sustainable site as nearly 92% of the construction waste on site was recycled and 47,000 tons of material from Mueller airport runway was reprocessed on the site.

For preservation of resources and materials, the center used special paints and flooring that released low levels of volatile organic compounds in addition to local and regional materials that conserved fuel for shipping.

However, not many hospitals are expected to follow in the footsteps of Dell Children’s Medical Center as achieving platinum certification is expensive and difficult.

Derrick Evers, managing partner of Neal Richards Group, told US real estate monitor GlobeSt.com: “A lot of healthcare projects are front-end driven by cost. It can be an expensive proposition on the front end. If there’s little payback, it likely won’t be a consideration.”

According to Chris Barnet, managing director of Dallas-based GVA Cawley’s Healthcare Real Estate Advisory Group, the healthcare real estate would be put off by the fact it would not witness an instant payback for high-level LEED certification.