After a 2007 tornado, rebuilt Kiowa County Memorial Hospital in Greensburg, Kan., is the first LEED platinum certified critical access healthcare facility in the United States, according to an article on the Health Facilities Management.
"The tornado not only destroyed our community and hospital, it caused a major shift in how we make decisions,” said Mary Sweet, administrator, Kiowa County Memorial Hospital.
"In rebuilding we learned not to look at the initial cost only, but to look at environmental impact, long-term cost savings, and sustainable and renewable resources," she said in the article.
Among the many new features are two on-site 50-kilowatt wind turbines tied to the grid generate 440,000 kwh annually to partially offset the hospital's energy use.
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