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Sustainability

Sustainability:  meeting the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.

Taking care of people, now and into the future, is what Samaritan Health Services is all about. It’s no surprise, then, that Samaritan takes very seriously its commitment to sustainability. The above definition, which comes from a United Nations-commissioned report, is an appropriate reflection of Samaritan’s philosophy. Through recycling, thoughtful energy use, green housekeeping and healing environments, Samaritan is actively practicing health care that can sustain current and future generations. As always, Samaritan is mindful of building healthier communities together.

• Saving energy
• Recycling
• Green cleaning
• Healing environments

Saving energy

An essential component of Samaritan Health Services’ sustainability program is wise energy use. Each Samaritan hospital and clinic assesses its own facility’s energy needs – based upon the building’s age, design, and potential for change – and devises ongoing tactics to use energy most efficiently.

Fixture updates/smart sensors

Plant engineers are replacing hundreds of lights throughout the hospital and the physician clinics on the Samaritan campuses in Corvallis and Lebanon. They’re removing old T-12 fluorescent lighting and installing new electronic ballasts to accommodate a new, more energy efficient T-8 lighting system.

With support from the Oregon Energy Trust, Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center in Corvallis and Samaritan Lebanon Community Hospital are installing hundreds of “smart” light sensors in many hallways, offices and other low-profile areas of the hospital. If the devices sense that movement has stopped, they cause the lights to dim and gradually turn off. (These sensors are not currently in patient rooms, where unexpected dimming of lights might cause alarm or discomfort.)

At Samaritan Albany General Hospital, each time an office or department is remodeled, the Plant Services Department replaces existing lighting fixtures with more energy-efficient ones. Similarly, at Samaritan Pacific Communities Hospital in Newport, engineers are relamping fixtures with T8s.

Many signs, including “Exit” signs use labor- and energy-friendly LED (light emitting diodes) lights. LEDs are tiny light bulbs that fit easily into an electrical circuit. Unlike ordinary incandescent bulbs, they don’t have a filament that will burn out. They are illuminated by the movement of electrons, and they last as long as a standard transistor.

Variable-speed fan drives

In 2006, Samaritan Albany General Hospital received capital approval to purchase variable speed drives, with energy-efficient motors. The updated drives will provide a more economical way to run the hospital’s main cooling towers and main air supplies.

“The new drives will allow us to be more efficient, in that we can adjust the amount of energy we use,” said Lyn Giboney, Plant Services Manager for the hospital. “Previously, our main cooling towers were either on or off. Now, we’ll be able to slow down or speed up the fans, depending on our current needs. Instead of having to use 40 horsepower at night, for example, when fewer people are in the building, we can slow it down to 20 horses and save energy.”

At Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center in Corvallis, the constant-velocity air conditioning system was replaced recently with a more efficient system that slows down or speeds up depending on need. The hospital’s Plant Engineering Department also is doing design development to come up with the most efficient replacement for the current cooling towers that date from 1977.

Similarly, the department is doing life-cycle analyses for potential future projects, such as a free-standing surgery center and a new Intensive Care Unit. Scott Carroll, manager of Plant Engineering at the Corvallis campus, says that hospital equipment that has reached the end of its life cycle is being replaced with systems that are “smarter.” He says he is guided, in part, by the “Green Guide for Health Care,” what he calls a “do-the-right-thing-manual.” Some sustainability adaptations, such as using lead-free paint, are relatively easy, according to Carroll, and simply require good housekeeping. Others require more comprehensive planning.

Energy density

Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center in Corvallis is actively assessing energy density (kilowatt use per square foot of space) and is working with the Department of Energy’s Energy Star Program to lower its density. The hospital is very close to meeting benchmarks to be Energy Star rated.

Samaritan Pacific Communities Hospital adjusts the set point of its chillers/coolers to get maximum cooling efficiency; and, although its boilers are not new, it uses only seven pounds of pressure to heat water with maximum efficiency.

Designing for sustainability

In the last few years, Samaritan’s plant engineers have been incorporating sustainability concepts into their plans for new campus buildings and remodels. They’re working with architects, for example, to make sure that building design considers:

• Multi-use structures that can be remodeled easily
• Natural light
• Energy efficient windows that save heating/cooling costs and protect carpeting and other flooring from fading
• Energy efficient HVAC (heating/ventilating/air conditioning) systems with computer controls
• VFDs (variable fan drives) on motors
• Lighting controls

Recycling

All Samaritan Health Services’ facilities are committed to recycling, and all have site-specific programs for collecting paper, cardboard and other hazardous and non-hazardous materials.  In addition, Samaritan has developed a number of system-wide programs to maximize its recycling efficiency and minimize waste in its communities.

System-wide, multi-facility recycling programs

Confidential paper recycling

In 2006, Samaritan began using its already-existing courier system to improve the way it collects and disposes of confidential paper. Now, not only do couriers pick up and shuttle mail, X-rays and medical supplies among SHS facilities in the valley. They also pick up large bags of carefully-marked confidential paper waste, which has been collected from smaller “confidential” boxes placed strategically throughout SHS facilities. Samaritan Albany General Hospital, for example, has 30 of the smaller boxes throughout its facility.

“The couriers bring the bags from hospitals in Lebanon and Albany, Avery Square and many SHS physician clinics to the Corvallis campus, where we shred all the paper on-site and feed it into large recycle bins,” explained Brad Jenkins, Materials Manager at Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center in Corvallis. “The paper is then picked up and compacted by our local disposal company.

“The new program required that we purchase additional specially-marked disposal bags for each site and a larger cargo van, but already, the program has been successful, Jenkins continued. “We’re saving about $60,000 a year through this systems approach, but more importantly, we’re recycling more paper than ever before, and we’re keeping a lot of waste out of landfills.”

Cartridge recycling to benefit school children

SHS works with a national organization, Cartridges for Kids®, to collect all toner cartridges from its valley hospitals, clinics and offices. Not only is the program a boon for recycling, but it also offers a special bonus.

“This program actually benefits our local school children,” said Hank Surles, Materials Management Operations Manager for SHS. “We’ve placed collection containers in each of the valley hospitals’ stores/supplies departments, so that employees will find it convenient to discard their cartridges. Then, the national organization collects the cartridges, credits Samaritan for the cartridge value, and gives the money to local schools in our (SHS) name. “

More than 40 schools in the SHS area are the program’s recipients. They include elementary, middle and high schools in Albany, Corvallis and Lebanon. Surles said this particular cartridge program is limited to Samaritan’s valley facilities, because Samaritan’s coast hospitals already had well-managed reciprocal arrangements with their local schools.    

“We expect to recycle 800 to 1,000 cartridges a year with this program,” Surles continued. “At a value of 50 cents to $12 a cartridge, that will be quite a gift to our schools. We’re excited about the program, because it keeps some waste out of landfills and provides money for a cool cause. Better yet, it helps kids become aware of the importance of recycling.

Xylene distilling

Samaritan Health Services has purchased its own distilling machine to break down and recycle xylene, a petroleum-based chemical used as a solvent and clearing agent in the histology lab (where tissue samples are studied). Xylene is highly flammable and has a potential to contaminate soil if it leaks underground.

With the system now in place, all five Samaritan hospitals send tissue samples to the lab at Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center in Corvallis for tissue processing and/or diagnoses. Afterward, the xylene used in this process goes through the lab’s distilling machine, where it is cleaned through evaporation and recondensation.

“The distiller allows us to clean the used xylene of any pieces of tissue, stains or other preservatives it accumulates during tissue processing,” said SHS Laboratory Director Harlan Akers. “That means we don’t have to stockpile barrels of the chemical outside our hospital, and we don’t have to worry about hurting our landfills with contaminated xylene, either. The machine is a plus for everybody.”

Additional recycling measures

At Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center, the campus recycles every possible item, including batteries, glass, cardboard, paper, aluminum and plastics.

The hospital also uses an autoclave steam sterilization system to treat biomedical waste. This process allows the hospital to treat waste as it is generated, so it does not have to be stored.  It also eliminates up to 90 percent of the waste that has to be transported off-site to be incinerated. Consequently, fewer dioxins and other toxic chemicals are released into the air.

At Samaritan Pacific Communities Hospital in Newport, all confidential paper is collected and shredded. Michael Larimer, director of the hospital’s Engineering Services Department, said cardboard and other materials are collected from all campus offices and then recycled through the community’s sanitation service. “It’s something we can do to reduce the impact on the waste stream,” Larimer said.

In various Samaritan locations:

• Paper towels and toilet paper are made of 95 percent recycled material.
• Paper towels are in auto dispense containers to prevent waste
• Spent light tubes are recycled
• Housekeeping uses micro mops, which require fewer chemicals and less water. (For the last 12 months, for example, the housekeeping staff at Samaritan Lebanon Community Hospital estimates the new mop system has reduced water usage by 7,168 gallons and eliminated the need for personnel to lift and dump 1,792 mop buckets.)

Green cleaning

Throughout its hospitals and other health care facilities, Samaritan always strives to use products, equipment and cleaning protocols that have the least potential to cause discomfort to patients, staff and visitors. These uses may include powerful germicides in hospital areas where ill patients have the potential to transfer dangerous microorganisms; and they may include newly-developed green, and efficient, cleaning products, with minimum toxins and odors, in other areas. 

Cleaning products and practices

Last year, Samaritan began using cleaning products produced by the Oregon company Coastwide Laboratories. The products are gentle on the environment and on people. Products include glass cleaner, heavy duty cleaner, neutral cleaner, tile and washroom cleaner and floor finish.

“We don’t know who might be coming through our (hospital) doors, or what their health or allergies might be, so we have to use the least harmful products that still clean efficiently,” said Judy McCool, manager of Environment Services at Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center in Corvallis. “We’re in a business that serves people who are already sick. We don’t want to do anything that might make them sicker.”

“We have to realize that we have many people, both our patients and our employees, who are sensitive to certain products,” said Janice Miner, Nutrition Services and Environmental Services manager at Samarian Pacific Communities Hospital in Newport. “In patient rooms and throughout the hospital, we use cleaners and disinfectants that are earth sustainable and have very little smell.”

Similarly, at Samaritan North Lincoln Hospital, carpet cleaning and spot cleaning products, for example, are chosen for their low-toxicity and fragrance/allergy-free characteristics, according to Pat Zeller, Environment Services and Safety Office for the hospital.

The housekeeping staffs at Samaritan Lebanon Community Hospital and Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center now use a flat mop system for cleaning. The new micro mops require fewer chemicals and less water. The hospital in Lebanon tracked results for a year and found that the new mop system reduced water usage by 7,168 gallons and eliminated the need for personnel to lift and dump 1,792 mop buckets.

Judy McCool, manager of Environmental Services for GSRMC, said: “The new mop system uses mopheads that simply roll up. That means there’s less ringing and rinsing and therefore less potential for any of the dirty water to splatter on walls or other surfaces.”

Earth-friendly housekeeping

• At Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center and Samaritan Lebanon Community Hospital, 90 to 95 percent of paper products, such as toilet paper and towels, are made of natural ingredients that break down quickly in landfills.
• Paper towels are in auto dispense containers to prevent waste.
• Chemicals have automated dispensing systems, so staff can always be assured of using correct/safe proportions of cleaning solutions.
• Vacuum cleaners have multi HEPA filters to reduce dust pollution into the air.
• Floor machines, such as carpet extractors and automatic scrubbers, now use less chemicals and water.
• Staff collects and recycles office paper, cardboard, plastics, glass, aluminum.

Ongoing commitment to sustainability

Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center is a partner in the Hospitals for a Healthy Environment™ program. This national organization is a joint effort of the American Hospital Association, American Nurses Association, Health Care Without Harm and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The program works with and recognizes hospitals developing and implementing innovative programs to reduce the environmental impact of their facilities. The partnership already has resulted in the elimination of mercury at the hospital, and it is helping the hospital identify and eliminate bio-accumulative and toxic chemicals. In addition, the program helps the hospital keep educated and updated on emerging green practices.

In early 2006, the Environmental Services Department at Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center organized a sustainability committee  to monitor current green activity and brainstorm for future green endeavors. Judy McCool, manager of Environmental Services for the hospital, refers to the committee’s members as “ambassadors who are the eyes and ears for a greener hospital.” Members of the committee come from many departments within the hospital, including Infection Control, The Center for Women and Families, Professional Development, Dining Services and Plant Engineering.

Healing environments

In numerous ways, Samaritan Health Services demonstrates its belief that healing environments and simple gestures of kindness contribute to overall well-being. Evidence of this philosophy can be heard in the occasional sounds of piano music floating through the lobby of Samaritan Albany General Hospital or seen in the two-story forest mural gracing an interior courtyard outside Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center’s cafeteria.

All Samaritan facilities have healing gardens or other restful places where patients, visitors and staff can relax, reflect, relieve stress and reconnect to nature. These calming places make judicious use of plants, sounds, water, textures, light and/or art to encourage sustainability, overall peace of mind and wellness.

Allow us to take you on a verbal journey to visit the healing gardens and calming atmospheres on Samaritan campuses...

Healing gardens

The Japanese healing garden at Samaritan Lebanon Community Hospital was completed in the fall of 2004. The healing garden recognizes what healers have instinctively known for centuries -- that natural elements, such as plants, gardens and water, are beneficial to the human healing process.

Designed by internationally-acclaimed landscape architect Hoichi Kurisu, the 11,250-square-foot garden includes three large waterfalls using re-circulating water, fully mature trees, pathways, lighting features, a covered patio and a gazebo in Japanese architecture. It lies in the center courtyard of the hospital, so that it can be viewed from four different wings of the hospital.

The garden supplies a breathtaking view for hospital areas surrounding it, including the new infusion therapy wing, the birthing wing, classrooms in the Health Career and Training Center and the public cafeteria.

Kurisu, who has been working with Japanese-style design principles for more than 30 years and is a strong believer in the positive effects of nature, said: “Scientists have created tremendous treatment programs for the sake of human happiness, but we’ve closed the door to the human heart, to the human spirit. Hospitals should not only be a place to cure, but they must become a place to share joy, not fear – encouragement, not aggression. You must give hope for new life.”

Dr. James Ryan Memorial Garden and labyrinth at Samaritan Pacific Communities Hospital: Named in honor of a respected physician, this garden at Samaritan’s Newport hospital provides a beautiful space for meditation and contemplation. The garden delights visitors with multicolored blooms of roses, rhododendrons, lavender and dahlias, enhanced by memorial walkways, trees and garden benches. A 26-foot labyrinth in the garden serves as a great meditative pathway that may provide peace, focus, relaxation, balance, and spiritual and emotional clarity for people.

Healing entryway at Samaritan Albany General Hospital:  The product of years of thoughtful planning by the hospital’s Healing Environment Committee, the recently remodeled entryway welcomes patients and visitors alike and gives expression to the healing environment they are about to enter. The entry garden features water rippling over a rock formation and surrounded by small trees and potted plants. It delights visitors with its natural sights and sounds and prepares them for the soothing Northwest nature motif they’ll experience as they enter the hospital’s lobby.

Healing garden outside Ralph Hull Regional Heart Center at Samaritan
Regional Medical Center in Corvallis: The centerpiece of this multi-level garden is a dry riverbed with plants that tolerate dry conditions in the summer and wet conditions in the winter. Samaritan physician Fred Weisensee, MD, who is knowledgeable about plants, helped select plants that have low water requirements, so that the garden can be sustainable well into the future. Small benches provide opportunities for visitors to rest and reflect quietly on the natural plant and rock setting surrounding them.

Healing garden at Samaritan North Lincoln Hospital:  The idea for a healing garden came from two hospital employees, both master gardeners, who decided that a little plot of land near the In-Home Services building entrance would be a perfect place for such a garden. The project has been adopted by the entire In-Home Services Department, with staff suggesting types of plants and flowers to include. For example, mint and lavender are planted in season, because they are known to have a peaceful effect on people. Some plants have been donated, and some have been purchased with hospital funds.

Meditative labyrinth and healing garden at Samaritan Regional Cancer Center in Corvallis:  A student at Crescent Valley High School in Corvallis led the construction of this labyrinth in 2006 as his Eagle Scout project. Eric Delander said he was inspired by the Chartres Cathedral labyrinth in France. The labyrinth may serve as a healing and restorative tool, crossing cultural and religious boundaries, to help cancer patients and their families find peace, focus, relaxation, balance and spiritual and emotional clarity. The labyrinth and surrounding garden was made possible through the generous support of Planting Seeds, Inc., Mid-Valley Gravel Company, Green and White Rock Products, Inc., Corvallis Rental Equipment, Peoria Gardens, Garland Nursery, USDA Germplasm Repository, Good Samaritan Hospital Foundation and Boy Scout Troop 170.

Recognition garden at Samaritan Lebanon Community Hospital: Bushes hung heavy with roses and flowering trees emanating fragrant perfumes greet visitors to this interior courtyard recognizing donors to the hospital’s tax-exempt foundation. Welcoming benches, calming ponds and gentle arbors encourage patients and visitors alike to stay awhile and inhale nature’s beauty.

Calming atmospheres/connections with nature

The lobby of Samaritan Albany General Hospital continues the theme of its dramatic entryway with its 25-foot-long, 4-foot-high mural depicting a sun break through morning fog in a thicket of noble firs. Shedd artist Stev Ominski, who painted “The Edge of Transition,” said his inspiration came from a photo of local landmark Mary’s Peak. Ominski’s artwork was selected from among six proposals through a vote of the hospital’s Healing Environment Committee. New lobby furniture, carpeting and wall color enhance the mural’s color palette, while strategically-placed recessed lighting captures the subtle light and shadows of its nature scene.

The Regional Cancer Center on the campus of Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center in Corvallis is recognized by the American Institute of Architects for its light-filled, patient-friendly design. The center incorporates multiple healing touches. Outdoors is a labyrinth for meditation, water/pond features and soothing murals. Inside are a soothing fish aquarium in the lobby and colorful tiles, designed by cancer patients, on hallway walls.

The Emenhiser Infusion Center at Samaritan Lebanon Community Hospital, opened in early 2006 and overlooks the hospital’s beloved healing garden. Glass windows that reach down to the floor capture the most light and allow patients to view the garden’s koi pond and large waterfall. Sounds from the waterfall can be transmitted into the infusion rooms to sooth patients during treatments (sometimes up to six hours). Patients come for chemotherapy, as well as treatment for multiple sclerosis, Crohn's disease and other disorders.

Walls and partition screens in the infusion center are made of bamboo, a renewable resource that also has a soft, calming look. The area’s fluorescent lighting is soothing and efficient, and its motion sensors provide energy efficiency.

A vegetable garden at Wiley Creek Community in Sweet Home provides an opportunity for the residents of this independent- and assisted-living facility to literally commune with nature’s soil, sun and air. The on-site garden is a source of pride for residents, as well as a wellspring of fresh produce and an enjoyable reason for exercise

To maintain residents’ connection with nature even more, Wiley Creek encourages contact with animal friends. Its beautiful courtyard boasts a fountain with goldfish; and inside the building, a resident parrot and occasional cat provide natural contacts.

One space at a time, Samaritan North Lincoln Hospital is using lighting, color, views, art, sound, texture and materials to create more healing environments. The hospital’s main lobby remodel, begun in 2006, includes refurbished walls painted in tones of soft green, as well as vinyl plank flooring, which provides natural beauty and a slip-resistant surface for wheel chairs, canes and walkers. The furniture incorporates natural wood tones with fabrics of soothing greens, blues and taupes. Jamie Brown, a Lincoln City interior design specialist, donated her talent and time to designing the lobby remodel.  Artwork throughout the lobby depicts water and lake scenes to complement the hospital’s natural lake setting. The sound system provides a background of comforting music for patients, visitors and employees.

The lobby’s theme is carried into the redesign of individual patient rooms and bathrooms as well. Soothing wall colors in these rooms provide a backdrop to new furniture and bed coverings; and window coverings are being chosen to augment the nature-rich view of the surrounding woods and resident deer. Thick vinyl flooring offers more cushion to the foot and reduces sound transmission.

Additional sustainability/healing initiatives

Interior design/color palette:  Committees from Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center and Samaritan Lebanon Community Hospital have worked with interior designers from the Portland-based Clark/Kjos architecture firm to come up with a new interior design/color palette to enhance a healing environment.  The combined committee considered:

• Natural colors and finishes
• Less vinyl (to lessen volatile organic compound off gassing)
• More linoleum (an earth-friendly product)
• “green”-rated carpets
• Tile, natural wood and other products that would integrate sustainable “green” products, when possible
• Creating looks to inspire trust and confidence
• Fostering a healing environment
• Offering a warm and inviting atmosphere
• Integrating nature’s calming beauty; bringing the outside in

Three distinct color schemes emerged from the committees’ work: Douglas Fir (with green as the predominant color), Big Leaf Maple (using red as the dominant theme), and Blue Spruce (featuring calming blue tones). The schemes are designed to work well with one another, while still providing choices as areas undergo remodeling or construction.

The patient rooms on 3-Center of Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center were remodeled in 2006 according to the new palette.

Using music to heal

As early as 2002, Samaritan Albany General Hospital added a piano to its lobby to fill the hospital with beautiful sounds. Since then, the hospital regularly hosts music practitioners with “music healing and transition” credentials to help patients in their healing process. At patients’ or their families’ requests, a harpist plays at bedside in the intensive care unit, newborn nursery and for hospice patients. Most recently, a music practitioner who plays the Native American flute has been comforting patients as well.

“Patients love it,” Rachel Hagfeldt, coordinator of Community Health Ministries and Parish Nursing for SAGH, said of the healing music. “Patients’ love of music helps them connect to comforting thoughts and feelings.”

Prayer Shawls 

A group of knitters meets monthly at Samaritan Albany General Hospital to craft soft, comforting shawls for patients. The shawls are given free to patients whose comments (“my faith sustains me,” “please pray for me”) suggest they might be comforted by a spiritual “healing touch.”  Those who knit the shawls do so in a meditative, prayerful manner, so that the shawls might be a means of connecting people with spiritual support.

ArtsCare Fund

To integrate art into the process of healing, Samaritan has partnered with ArtCentric, a Linn-Benton (counties) regional arts council. With donations from two longtime supporters of health care and the arts, Bob and Kitty Bunn of Corvallis, the council has established an ArtsCare Fund. Earnings from the fund support programs and projects at Samaritan-affiliated hospitals and other health care providers in the region.

Already, the partnership has resulted in the occasional placement of Music In Transition students in Good Samaritan’s dialysis, intensive care, and other patient units and in securing grant funding for a painted mural and several tile projects at the hospital. ArtCentric also coordinated the process for selecting and purchasing local artwork for the Mario Pastega House and the Ralph Hull Regional Heart Center on the hospital campus. It also has worked with local artisans to help dialysis patients complete a quilt displayed in the dialysis area.

“Healing presence” volunteers

People who believe deeply in the power of human presence to heal gather together regularly at Samaritan Albany General Hospital to take the “healing presence” class, taught by Community Ministries and Parish Nursing coordinator Rachel Hagfeldt. After their training, volunteers offer to sit at bedside to comfort or simply “be there” for patients who are in a lot of pain or confusion, who are dying or who don’t want to be alone.

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