And that\u2019s why UCI Health is touting its latest facility as the \u201chospital of the future.\u201d<\/p>\n
In December, the country\u2019s first all-electric hospital will open in Irvine along the San Joaquin Marsh. Joe Brothman, director of UCI Health general services, said the hospital will adopt a \u201chealthcare without harm\u201d model. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe operation of this campus will have no emissions,\u201d he said. \u201cThe energy that we’re utilizing is all green electricity that we’re importing.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The first all-electric hospital in the U.S. will open in Irvine in December. <\/p>\n
That means all the electricity the hospital uses will be generated through sustainable means, including solar and wind. The hospital procures the energy from Southern California Edison, which gives them the option of choosing their energy source. Solar panels atop the hospital\u2019s parking structures also will generate some of the power.<\/p>\n
But what happens if there is a power outage in the middle of a surgery?<\/p>\n
The hospital still will have to turn to diesel power generators in the event of an outage.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe surgeon who’s operating might see a short duration of a blip, but their full power needs will come on,\u201d Brothman said. \u201cThe patient on the table will not notice any blip.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Joe Brothman, director of UCI Health general services, said the all-electric hospital will adopt a \u201chealthcare without harm\u201d model.<\/p>\n
The reason for relying on diesel for the backup generator, Brothman said, is because in 2020, when the plans for the hospital were stamped for approval, diesel generation was the only emergency backup power source available at the time.<\/p>\n
Against the federal current<\/p>\n
Despite the federal government taking steps to wind down policies aimed at addressing climate change, UCI Health will continue charging ahead toward decarbonization.<\/p>\n
\u201c\u200aI do believe that this is the hospital of the future,\u201d Brothman said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Screens monitor power activity at the all-electric hospital in Irvine.<\/p>\n
The decision UCI Health leaders made, he added, was \u201cforward thinking,\u201d hedging their bets that natural gas would increase in price in the future. And by choosing how their power is generated \u2014 whether it\u2019s wind, solar or another renewable source \u2014 the hospital will not be tied to a specific power source.<\/p>\n
The location of the hospital on the Irvine\/Newport Beach border was \u201cperfect\u201d to go all-electric because extreme temperatures and climates demand more energy.<\/p>\n
\u201c\u200aIt is absolutely beautiful. We don’t ever get snow. The weather here never really gets into the triple digits too often,\u201d Brothman said. \u201cIn that sense, this was the perfect location to build this all-electric facility because it’s the perfect tempered climate for this location.\u201d<\/p>\n
Climate in the kitchen<\/p>\n
Joseph Hirsch, executive chef at UCI Health, said the approach of health without harm and sustainability also will extend to the kitchen. Think jack fruit pho and carnitas-style tacos made with banana peels.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Joseph Hirsch, executive chef at UCI Health, said the approach of health without harm and sustainability also will extend to the kitchen. <\/p>\n
\u200a\u201dIf you’re getting beef from a local farm, if it’s within 50 miles, right there in itself, you’re looking at less gas, less emissions to bring the food to deliver,\u201d he said. \u201cVersus if you were sourcing it from [200, 300], 400 miles away. Now you’re looking at multiple warehouses, a longer supply chain, more emissions, so this is just a cleaner way and a more efficient way to really meet those sustainability goals.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Keep up with LAist. If you’re enjoying this article, you’ll love our daily newsletter, The LA Report. Each…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":333033,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[165117,210,1141,165116,1142,1763,80519,165115,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-333032","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-health-care","8":"tag-first-all-electric-hospital","9":"tag-health","10":"tag-health-care","11":"tag-health-without-harm","12":"tag-healthcare","13":"tag-sustainability","14":"tag-uc-irvine","15":"tag-uci-health","16":"tag-united-states","17":"tag-unitedstates","18":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115438549063193186","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/333032","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=333032"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/333032\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/333033"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=333032"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=333032"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=333032"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}