New facility will help patients and the environment
By Kyle LoJacono
Staff Writer
LUTZ — It is not every decade that a new hospital opens in Hillsborough County.
In fact, when St. Joseph’s Hospital-North, 4211Van Dyke Road in Lutz, opens on Feb. 1, it will be the first new full-service hospital in the county in 30 years. That distinction would be enough to make the hospital unique, but the new facility will not just be giving a boost to the health of north Hillsborough and south Pasco county residents.
“Buildings are one of the largest consumers of resources and energy in the country,” said Paula McGuiness, chief operating officer of the hospital. “St. Joseph’s Hospitals and Bay Care Health System believe in being leaders of environmental stewardship, innovation and corporate responsibility.”
The 350,000-sqaure-foot, $225 million hospital was designed to both treat patients while reducing its effect on the environment.
The hospital’s Web site, www.stjosephsnorth.com, which launched on Dec. 31, states, “The environmentally friendly building is made of materials that support energy conservation and clean air with low chemical emissions and recycled content.”
Besides using more environmentally friendly building materials, the hospital has:
–Installed lighting and heating systems that use about 12 percent less energy than standard ones.
–Selected refrigerants that minimize the impact on ozone layer depletion.
–Installed water fixtures that use 20 percent less water than standard ones.
–Uses only reclaimed water from retentions ponds to maintain its landscaping.
–Used only building materials produced within 500 miles of the hospital to reduce transportation.
–Will offer preferred parking to low-emission and fuel-efficient vehicles.
The hospital’s goal is to be certified by the U.S. Green Building Council as a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design facility.
“It’s the new direction of healthcare facilities because of how the industry can impact nature, said hospital spokeswoman Jacqueline Farruggio said of making the hospital more environmentally friendly. “St. Joseph’s Hospital-North will be a leader in both patient care and helping the environment.”
Farruggio, of New Tampa, has worked with various St. Joseph facilities for two years.
For complete details on the hospital’s environmental practices, visit the hospitals Web site, click on “The Hospital of The Future, Today” tab on the upper left of the screen and click the LEED®-registered link.
The hospital plans to mainly serve north Hillsborough and south Pasco residents, which includes: Lutz, Odessa, Keystone, New Tampa, Northdale, Carrollwood, Citrus Park, Land O’ Lakes, Wesley Chapel and Trinity.
“We’re bringing quality health care closer to home and building a hospital where patients want to heal,” McGuiness said.
The hospital will offer emergency care, surgical services, imaging and diagnostic facilities, intensive care, obstetrics and other medical treatments.
“Many people think we are already open because the diagnostic building has been there for a while,” Farruggio said. “We’ve worked on the new facility for a long time and it’s exciting to be opening very soon. These kinds of things don’t happen very often and it’s great that the time is almost here.”
The hospital will be allowing people to experience its facilities before it opens during its “sneak-peak” event Jan. 23 and 24 from 1 to 4 p.m. The event will include tours of the patient areas, the emergency department, pregnancy areas and intensive care units. There will also be health screenings at the event.
People can register for the various “sneak-peak” weekend events on the hospital’s Web site.
