GE and Asklepios Hospital Group to build up “Green Hospital”

GE and Asklepios Hospital Group signed an agreement to create their first project in German healthcare to comprehensively address environmental issues. The renovation and expansion of one of the hospitals owned by Asklepios in Hamburg, Germany, known as the "Green Hospital" project, will be their pilot hospital in Europe entirely planned and designed on ecological principles.

Jeffrey R. Immelt, Chairman & CEO – GE; Dr. Rolf Lucas, President & CEO GE...
Jeffrey R. Immelt, Chairman & CEO – GE; Dr. Rolf Lucas, President & CEO GE Healthcare in Germany; Dr. rer. pol. Tobias Kaltenbach, Chairman of Asklepios Hospital Group, Dr.-Ing. Carlos Härtel, Managing Director, GE Global Research Center Europe

Background: Dr. Wolfgang Sittel, Director Architecture and Construction Asklepios Hospitals; Michael Koethe, Director Healthcare Projects Central Europe, GE Healthcare Europe

 The Asklepios Hospital in Hamburg is particularly well-suited for the “Green Hospital” project. The energy efficiency principles will be employed both in the conversion of existing buildings and the construction of new facilities. Finalization of the project is planned for 2013.

“A well-preserved environment is essential for good health. By working with our customers and partners in the conception and design of healthcare facilities, we aim to reduce energy usage, conserve water, generate renewable energy onsite, maintain air quality, reduce waste, increase staff productivity and improve patient satisfaction,” GE Chairman and CEO Jeff Immelt said at the signing ceremony of the cooperation agreement, which took place as part of the celebrations to mark the 5-year anniversary of GE’s Global Research Center (GRC) in Germany.

Worldwide, the healthcare sector is faced with new challenges when it comes to the planning of hospitals and healthcare institutions. As natural resources dwindle and costs rise, pathways leading to minimize the impact that healthcare delivery has on the environment are in greater demand than ever. This joint project to create an energy efficient hospital addresses these challenges, making it a first in Europe to be planned and designed while considering all interdependencies across a variety of ecological measures. In addition to GE’s close cooperation with Asklepios in Germany, the Company is actively engaging customers in other parts of Europe, the Americas, Asia Pacific and the Middle East to deploy environmental concepts at hospitals worldwide.

Achieving the goal to complete this project requires a multi-layered implementation concept. GE will provide the necessary innovative solutions from its different business units and supply Asklepios with unique concepts for building and operating hospitals, optimizing the efficiencies of the design. “One of the benefits of having GE’s GRC in Munich is that they will be actively involved with Asklepios in creating and testing new product concepts,” Immelt added. GE’s technologies to be evaluated are Power-Heat-Cooling co-generation, solar heat and cold, energy efficient medical equipment and lighting as well as systems for water purification reuse.

An Integrative Concept
The “Green Hospital” project is based on a multi-dimensional approach: the combination of ecology, economy and the well-being of people in a hospital. “This collaboration is an integrated concept that harnesses the synergies between innovation, technological progress and the responsible usage of natural resources,” explained Dr. Tobias Kaltenbach, CEO, Asklepios.

“This is an exciting opportunity to simultaneously decrease environmental impact and cost while improving the quality of patient care,” Dr. Rolf Lucas, President & CEO, GE Healthcare, Germany, emphasized. “All areas are closely interlinked - from the building design and energy management to lighting, control systems and hygiene. These measures will be innovative, reliable and cost-effective. As a result, the investments required are planned to have amortized within three to six years.”

Pilot project: Asklepios Klinik Hamburg-Harburg
“We look forward to pushing the limits on what is currently possible. Healthcare should be a leader in creating more sustainable facilities, and we believe this will be an important milestone towards that mission,” said Dr. Kaltenbach. “As part of the implementation of the “Green Hospital” project, our aim is to increase energy efficiency by 30 percent while at the same time reducing energy consumption by 30 percent and expanding the proportion of renewable energies in the energy mix by up to 30 percent. Our goal is a 30-30-30 model geared towards the European Union’s target for the expansion of renewable energies, and in fact actually even exceeds it.”

Four years ago, GE created the global ecomagination program to develop innovations aimed at solving environmental problems. Asklepios has comprehensive medical expertise in the building and operation of healthcare facilities.
 

06.07.2009

Related articles

Photo

Article • Patient front and centre

One-Stop Clinic: diagnosis and treatment in one day, on one site, by one team

Cancer – one word that turns the patients’ world upside down. In addition to uncertainty and fear, they often face an unnerving series of exams and treatments. With its new One-Stop Clinic…

Photo

Sponsored • Deep Learning in Radiology

New Levels of Precision with Self-learning Imaging Software

The complex form of machine learning DLIR (Deep Learning Image Reconstruction) is based on a deep neuronal network which is similar to the human brain. The artificial neurons of this network learn…

Photo

Interview • Algorithms in radiology

AI in diagnostics: Smart scans are the future

AI algorithms are making their way not just into diagnostic workstations, but will also in future be found in the diagnostic methods themselves. Prof. Mathias Goyen, Chief Medical Officer Europe at…

Subscribe to Newsletter