Throughout the planning process for a new Flagstaff hospital and ambulatory care center, Northern Arizona Healthcare has worked directly with engineers who have decades of expertise in building sustainable health care facilities. These experts have helped develop plans that meet LEED Gold criteria, a commitment NAH made to the Flagstaff City Council June 6, 2023, when the Development Agreement was approved.
Health care facilities are significantly more challenged in meeting sustainability benchmarks compared to non-health care facilities. Hospitals must have backup power available at all times, cannot reuse or recycle certain materials, and often have higher standards for interior environmental conditions such as temperature, humidity and air quality.
NAH has committed to installing solar panels on the parking garage and electric vehicle chargers for use by both staff and the public. NAH will join the APS Green Connect Partner program to purchase energy from renewable resources.
Compared to the current FMC hospital, the new hospital will:
- Reduce water consumption by 22 million gallons per year.
- Reduce use of natural gas by 78%.
- Reduce our use of steel by 4,000,000 pounds through innovative design and construction options, which will reduce CO2 generation by more than 4,000 metric tons.
- Eliminate more than 1,300 metric tons of CO2 emissions by reducing helicopter-based deferrals to Phoenix, Las Vegas, and New Mexico.
Our plans have been reviewed by Flagstaff sustainability and engineering staff and have been deemed acceptable, and our plans go above and beyond the city’s development requirements with regard to sustainability.
Trees and natural space
We are working with city and county parks departments to ensure connection and coordination with the FUTS trails and have secured partnerships with groups such as Greater Flagstaff Forests Partnership. Together with GFFP we are already working to ensure we contribute to maintaining forest health to support fire prevention.
With forest preservation in mind, our site plan calls for only 40% of the overall land to be developed, and 30% of the site will remain undisturbed forest.