NEEDHAM, Mass. — EH&E’s energy optimization project at Good Samaritan Medical Center, a hospital in the Steward Health Care Network, has received top honors in the Best Practice Sustainable Building Operations by a Building Owner category at the International Facilities Management Association’s (IFMA) Boston Awards of Excellence ceremony. The award was presented to Steward Health Care on behalf of Good Samaritan based on “the team whose facility management program, project, system, innovation, or idea has had a substantial, positive effect on the success of their organization.”

The project goal was to reduce energy consumption by a minimum of 10 percent without installing expensive capital equipment. The program achieved energy savings through an analysis of the HVAC system and hospital operations, and then optimizing the use and performance of the existing HVAC equipment and implementing low-cost improvements. It involved close collaboration between EH&E team members and Good Samaritan’s operations staff, and achieved a final savings of over 14 percent for the year.

“Hospitals represent one of the greatest users of energy in this country, and are also under intense pressure to reduce costs,” said John McCarthy, president and co-founder of EH&E, a Needham, Mass.-based environmental services consulting firm. “Steward Health Care understands the importance of finding innovative ways to reduce costs without affecting patient services, and this represents a significant step in that direction. We’re proud to be a partner in a project that simultaneously strengthens our health care system and our environment.”