The new Rockingham Memorial Hospital, which opened in June, has become the first inpatient healthcare facility in Virginia to achieve Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) certification from the nonprofit U.S. Green Building Council.

The U.S. Green Building Council LEED certification criteria include use of sustainable site, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, indoor and environmental air quality and innovation in design. RMH received LEED certification points for the following:

Sustainable site—minimizing the building site’s impact on its environment, wildlife habitat, erosion and needs for transportation.

• Surrounded by nature—The new RMH is sited on 254 acres of farmland with surrounding views of the Shenandoah mountains and Massanutten peak. The new hospital was built to take advantage of the natural beauty of the site and of the sun’s rays. During the winter months, the sun will assist in melting snow and ice in the visitor parking areas and walkways, thus reducing the need for melting agents and snow removal.
• Natural light for patient, employee benefit—Patient rooms have large windows to bring in natural light and feature picturesque views of the rolling hills and mountains. In addition, corridors and stairwells have been designed with ample windows to encourage stairwell use and bring light into employees’ work areas. Research has found that viewing natural scenes or elements fosters recovery by:
  • Evoking positive feelings
  • Reducing negative emotions
  • Effectively holding a person’s attention or interest
  • Blocking or reducing stressful thoughts

In addition, research has shown that surgical patients with views of nature had shorter post-operative stays, returned fewer negative comments to nurses, took less pain medication and experienced fewer minor post-operative complications.

Employees who work in green buildings are generally healthier, more productive and more satisfied, leading to less staff turnover, an important healthcare quality indicator.

• Wetland management—RMH created storm water runoff ponds and enhanced the existing wetland area to slow excess water and sediment runoff, both pre- and post-construction, thus reducing negative impacts to downstream watersheds. Thoughtful planning for storm water run-off helps preserve the wetland on the RMH site (the headwaters of the Pleasant Run watershed that feed into the Chesapeake Bay).
• Landscape contouring, preserved/walking, biking trails—RMH has preserved the surrounding site as much as possible and created walking and biking trails to promote community fitness, recreation and alternative transportation routes for staff.

Water efficiency—conserving water through recycling water, reducing its use and returning it to the natural aquifers and other water sources.

• The new hospital uses reduced water flow toilets and low flow public restroom faucets, which will reduce the amount of water needed by 20 percent for these services.
• By planting native and drought-tolerant plants, RMH has minimized the amount of water needed to maintain the landscape.

Energy and atmosphere—minimizing energy use, optimizing energy that is used, creating renewable energy and managing overall energy use.

• Energy efficient lights in the new hospital help reduce the amount of electricity needed to “keep the lights on.” In addition, “down lighting” in parking lots, using shorter light poles, will help reduce light pollution generated by the campus.
• Innovative energy sources
  • Methane—The new RMH facility uses advanced energy systems designed to maximize energy efficiency and reduce costs. Part of this initiative is the innovative use of methane gas, a byproduct of the county landfill, as one energy source for its boilers. RMH is among the first hospitals in the nation to use this innovation. RMH received nearly $600,000 in grant funding from the Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy to fit its tri-fuel boilers to use methane.
  • Off electric grid in summer—The new hospital has enough power generation capabilities to go off the electric grid during peak hours, earning savings around $400,000 annually and reducing the load on the local power cooperative.

Materials and resources—facilitate reduction of waste, divert construction debris from landfills, increase demand for regionally produced materials.

• Recycling (during construction, and after opening)—During construction, RMH and its general contractor put a recycling program in place that recycled or diverted 80 percent of construction waste away from the local landfill.
• Ongoing recycling programs within RMH will continue responsible waste management principles of “reduce, reuse and recycle.”

Indoor environmental quality—enhance indoor air quality, thus contributing to the comfort and well-being of the occupants.

• No volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in interior materials—RMH selected paints, flooring adhesives, furnishing and cleaning supplies that produce few if any toxic fumes. These products are better not only for the environment, but also for employees and patients. Green cleaning products—RMH made the switch to environmentally friendly cleaning products at its current facility, so that these products will already be in use and familiar to staff when the new hospital opens. RMH will be using products that have a stamp of approval from Green Seal, a third-party evaluation agency. They contain no volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and no fragrance. In addition, the products are biodegradable, recyclable, noncombustible and are not tested on animals. Disinfectants—mostly used in restrooms—are not available as “green” products, due to their nature, but all other products used at RMH will be Green Seal approved.
• Tobacco free for interior air quality—A tobacco free campus will minimize guests’ and employees’ exposure to environmental tobacco smoke.

Innovation in design—provide exceptional performance above the requirements set by the LEED rating system for new construction.

• Use of methane fuel
• Green cleaning products
• Recyclable wares in the café