Grand Rapids Medical Facility Goes Green

As Featured in the Vol. 5 No. 2

Green Hospital

Grand Rapids-based Metro Health Hospital is opening a 170 acre Metro Health Village this fall. The facility will be the first health care campus in Michigan, and one of the few in the nation, to be certified green using the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED rating system.

The centerpiece of the Village will be the new eight-story Metro Health Hospital, an advanced $150-million medical center. The hospital will be green inside and out, including private patient rooms with views of the natural landscape surrounding the village. Green materials, such as bamboo, cork and recycled materials are being used in the construction. The hospital is investing in energy saving measures such as extensive use of high-efficiency lighting and windows. The project team also decided to build an independent power plant called the Advanced Energy and Sustainability Center that will incorporate sophisticated green design strategies.

Green Roof

The hospital is installing a 47,000-square-foot green roof on the outpatient services building. That’s the second largest green roof in the state and the first of its kind for a health care facility. With the help of a $400,000 grant from the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, the roof and its accompanying storm water management program will provide a number of environmental benefits including improved air and water quality; reduced peak temperatures, which will save on heating and cooling costs; energy-efficient insulation; and decreased storm water run off, which will reduce soil and water pollution. The grant will also fund the purchase and installation of “bioswales”, an engineered-landscape depression that utilizes soils and plants to filter and absorb storm water runoff.

Some of the new environmentally conscious design elements - a green, tranquil landscaping; natural light; and expansive outdoor views - also help to make the setting less institutional and more patient friendly.  The goal is to help improve the healing process, resulting in a reduction in the length of patient stays and ultimately lower health care costs.