The campus at Methodist Le Bonheur Germantown Hospital is growing. The hospital will break ground Tuesday, May 27, at 2:30 p.m., for a building that will provide exceptional health care services to women and children.

“We are very excited about our plans to expand,” said David Baytos, senior vice president and CEO, Methodist Le Bonheur Germantown Hospital. “In our new pavilion, we can implement the latest initiatives and best practices in providing care for our patients.”

One example of improving patient care Baytos explained is moving the16-bed neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) from the main hospital where all the babies are in one large patient care unit into space in the new pavilion that will be designed for 24 private rooms where parents can remain with their newborn throughout the infant’s hospital stay.

The Women’s and Children’s Pavilion is part of a $121 million project that includes adding 100 new beds, constructing a parking deck that will add over 600 parking spaces to the campus, and making a number of renovations within the existing hospital.

“The expansion will allow us to address the hospital’s high patient volume and to prepare for future inpatient growth due primarily to the aging population we serve,” said Baytos.

In addition to ensuring the ability to provide exceptional patient care for a growing population, another exciting aspect involving the new pavilion said Baytos are the steps being taking to gain the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver certification. LEED is a rating system developed by the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) which encourages green sustainable design.

“It is important for us to be good stewards of our environment,” said Baytos, “So we are taking a number of innovative steps to use sustainable resources.”

Some of the initiatives Methodist Le Bonheur Germantown Hospital is taking to be green include:

• Using a building envelop which has highly insulated walls, solar reflective roof and low-e glass in conjunction with an extremely efficient HVAC system, energy use can be reduced up to 20% of the standard energy code which will result in a savings of over $100,000 a year for heating and cooling.
• Recycling 90% of the construction waste from the demolition of the buildings located on the expansion site. The goal is to divert up to 75% of construction waste from landfills. One example is breaking down cardboard boxes and bundling them together to be recycled
• Planting drought resistant vegetation including grass and plants to reduce water use by 50%. Drip irrigation will be used in areas with plants.
• Using regional materials within a 500 mile radius to save transportation fuel.
• Using low volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in paints, coatings, sealants and composite wood products helps create purer air and better health. 
• Providing preferred parking for fuel-efficient low-emitting cars.

Construction on the new pavilion should be completed by January 2010. The next step in the project will be to renovate 100,000 square feet of the main hospital building. These renovations will include adding 16 beds to the intensive care unit and expanding the laboratory and pharmacy services.