By Healthcare Facilities Today

How many people does it take to change a lightbulb in a hospital?

It sounds like the start of a joke, but according to a an article in the Vancouver Sun, it's a serious question.

“Trying to change a light bulb in a hospital is not trivial when you’re talking about infection control challenges and patient impact,” Jeff Whitson said in the article. “In a simple office building, you don’t have the same challenges. That’s what I love about what I do. In a hospital setting, improving energy efficiency isn’t as simple as you might think.”

Whitson is the key account manager for the health sector in British Columbia. He helps the provincial health authorities who are part of the BC Hydro Power Smart Partner Program maximize the energy efficiency of their facilities, the article said.

According to the Sun, through their partnership with BC Hydro, health authorities commit to devising a long-range strategic energy management plan. An energy manager helps the organization meet its goals. 

Whitson talks to his energy managers every single day as part of ongoing collaborations on existing projects and identify new opportunities, he said in the article.

Those ideas might come from the energy manager, the nurses, or any member of the employee base. “We have a good methodology to get those good ideas on paper. Then we strategize which ones we’re going to move forward with and those we’re going to park for a while.” At any given time, he might have anywhere from 50-75 projects going across the province. “There’s lots of project management involved in what I do, and lots of follow-up discussions on project status.”

Read the article.