Summary: ASHE announced the winners of its 2024 Energy to Care Awards, recognizing healthcare facilities that have significantly reduced energy use and emissions. This year, 21 facilities received the Sustainability Champions Award, and 136 facilities earned the Sustained Performance Award.
Key Takeaways:
- The Sustainability Champions Award was given to 21 facilities for outstanding leadership in healthcare decarbonization and resource efficiency.
- The Sustained Performance Award was earned by 136 facilities for maintaining or further reducing annual emissions and energy usage intensity.
The American Society for Health Care Engineering (ASHE) of the American Hospital Association has announced the winners of its 2024 Energy to Care Awards, which recognize healthcare facilities that have significantly reduced their energy use and emissions and advanced their sustainability goals.
Sustainability Champions Award
This year, 21 healthcare facilities across six health care organizations have earned the Sustainability Champions Award, the program’s highest distinction, for demonstrating strong leadership in pursuit of healthcare decarbonization and using saved resources to support patient care. These facilities represent just 0.48% of the total facilities participating in the program and will be recognized at the inaugural Health Care Facilities Innovation Conference (formerly the ASHE Annual Conference & Technical Exhibition) July 21-24 in Anaheim, Calif.
Recognized Facilities:
- Ascension NE Wisconsin – Mercy Campus (Oshkosh, Wis.)
- Ascension NE Wisconsin – St. Elizabeth Campus (Appleton, Wis.)
- Ascension Seton Williamson Hospital (Round Rock, Texas)
- Ascension St. Vincent Warrick (Boonville, Ind.)
- Ascension St. Vincent’s Medical Center Clay County (Fla.) Hospital
- UPMC Northwest (Seneca, Pa.)
- Aurora Lakeland Medical Center (Elkhorn, Wis.)
- Aurora Medical Center – Burlington (Wis.)
- Aurora Medical Center – Grafton (Wis.)
- Aurora Medical Center – Manitowoc County (Two Rivers, Wis.)
- Aurora Medical Center – Oshkosh (Wis.)
- Aurora Medical Center – Summit (Wis.)
- Aurora Sinai Medical Center (Milwaukee)
- Aurora St. Luke’s South Shore Medical Center (Cudahy, Wis.)
Sustained Performance Award
The program also recognizes past Energy to Care Award winners who have continued to meet their sustainability goals by maintaining or further reducing annual emissions and energy usage intensity. In 2024, 136 facilities earned the Sustained Performance Award, accounting for a mere 3% of the total facilities participating in the program.
ASHE congratulated the Sustainability Champions and Sustained Performance award winners. In addition to these awardees, ASHE recognized its other 2024 Energy to Care Award winners, who cumulatively represent 2.3% of facilities enrolled in the Energy to Care Program. All 202 winning facilities have earned ASHE’s Energy to Care Award by demonstrating a 10% or greater reduction in energy use intensity over the previous year or 15% over two years, as tracked by reporting verified energy and water consumption data in the Energy to Care Dashboard.
Chapter Challenge
In addition, through the Energy to Care program, ASHE Chapters can participate in a challenge to demonstrate the highest reductions in energy consumption. Fourteen ASHE Chapters participated in the Energy to Care 2024 Chapter Challenge. ASHE congratulated the winners of the 2024 Chapter Challenge — who each won for the second year in a row — and thanked all participants for their work to save energy.
Chapter Challenge Winners:
- Large Category Winners: Texas Association of Healthcare Facilities Management
- Small Category Winner: Arkansas Association for Healthcare Engineering
Participation in the Energy to Care Program has seen consistent growth since its inception in 2006. More than 4,400 facilities have participated since 2010, and in the entire life of the program, healthcare facilities have seen a combined savings of more than $550 million reallocated to patient care, according to ASHE.