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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
Lee M. Wehr, BS, Engineering Department, Lehigh Valley Hospital, 1200 S Cedar Crest Blvd, Allentown, PA 18103, (610) 402-7505, lee.wehr@lvh.com, James B. Burke, MBA, Operations, Lehigh Valley Hospital, 17th & Chew Streets, Allentown, PA 18103, Louis L Liebhaber, MBA, Chief Operating Officer, Lehigh Valley Hospital, Cedar Crest and Route 78, Allentown, PA 18104, Christopher S. Hollenbeak, PhD, Community Health & Health Studies, Lehigh Valley Hospital, 227 N. 17th street, Allentown, PA 18104, and Lawrence C. Kleinman, MD, MPH, Department of Community Health and Health Studies, Dept of Health Evaluation Sciences, and Dept of Maternal Child Health, Lehigh Valley Hospital, Penn State College of Medicine, and Harvard School of Public Health, Health Studies Unit, 6th Floor, 17th and Chew Streets, Allentown, PA 18104.
Background. Heating and cooling a hospital is both critical for patient comfort and expensive. We describe Lehigh Valley Hospital’s (LVH) creative approach to energy management and the resulting outcomes.
Purpose. Assess the results of an innovative approach to energy management at a premier not-for-profit academic community hospital
Methods. Case Study. In 1997, chiller and boiler plants were operating at capacity and fuel costs were skyrocketing. Chillers, boilers, and air handlers were retrofitted to accept both natural gas and oil. A purchasing cooperative was created with local partners to allow for bulk purchases and maximum leverage. Finally, natural gas was purchased in the futures market. When prices rose in spot markets, the hospital engaged in arbitrage by selling the futures and using the proceeds used to purchase fuel oil.
Results. Cost per decatherm for gas and oil fell from $5.43 in 1997 to $3.90 in 1999, with a subsequent rise to $4.97 in 2000. Despite these variations, LVH’s cost for fuel per climate-controlled square foot fell steadily from $3.49 in 1997 to $2.45 in 2000. Even after a 265,000 square foot expansion, the $2.2 million cost of retrofitting was recovered in 2.2 years.
Conclusions. As fuel prices have risen dramatically recently, hospitals are forced to consider new approaches to energy approaches. Lehigh Valley Hospital’s approach included more traditional activities like adjusting its physical plant and innovative purchasing strategies to reduce fuel costs and to make them more predictable. Such an approach has value in not-for-profit, public, and for-profit health care institutions.
Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of this session, participants will
Keywords: Hospitals, Cost Issues
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I have a significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.
Relationship: Employment.