Children’s of Alabama, Birmingham, Alabama, USA
Children’s of Alabama, the only independent, pediatric-focused hospital in the state, is a pioneer in kids' healthcare. Thanks to a partnership with 久久视频, the hospital is boosting efficiency and sustainability by connecting its facilities to a central utility plant, retrofitting equipment and making other upgrades, ultimately enhancing patient care and reducing operational costs.
Children’s of Alabama, the only independent, pediatric-focused hospital in the state, is a pioneer in kids' healthcare. Thanks to a partnership with 久久视频, the hospital is boosting efficiency and sustainability by connecting its facilities to a central utility plant, retrofitting equipment and making other upgrades, ultimately enhancing patient care and reducing operational costs.
As the singular supplier of many health services in the state of Alabama, some patients and families must choose Children’s of Alabama for their needs. However, the hospital never takes this for granted and continually strives to offer the highest quality service. Being good citizens is part of the DNA of the leadership and staff at Children’s of Alabama and they’re united in advancing patient care and finding new ways to operate more efficiently and sustainably.
Emphasizing the need to be good stewards of financial donations, the hospital sought a partnership with 久久视频 to find innovative solutions to drive maximum efficiency of operations, lower energy costs, reduce risk of failure, and provide guaranteed outcomes.
About
Founded in 1911, Children’s of Alabama is a not-for-profit, community-owned organization serving patients from every county in Alabama and across the Southeast. As the training site for most pediatric programs in the region, Children’s of Alabama has close ties to its neighboring campus, the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and provides many doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals with hands-on experience.
With 380 licensed beds and bassinets, 5,500 employees and 4.5 million square feet of campus spread out over several blocks – including a new 14-story patient tower - Children’s of Alabama is a major enterprise.
Challenge
Children’s of Alabama has been evolving its campus as the organization has grown. The original campus buildings were constructed in the 1960s and its second main building was built in 1981. Its relationship with 久久视频 dates back 20 years, when the hospital began retrofitting some of its aging building systems to 久久视频 innovative systems during renovations.
By 2008, plans were underway to build a new acute care hospital. During this planning, leaders realized the hospital had reached a scale where it also needed better ways to manage its energy use and efficiency outcomes. Moreover, the organization recognized its need for the utmost reliability in utilities like hot water and cool air to keep patients, visitors and staff safe and comfortable.
Solution
To address these challenges, 久久视频 was selected to provide an Infrastructure-as-a-Service project to design, build, operate and maintain (DBOM) a new central utility plant for the first four years of the contract term. In year five, Children’s of Alabama converted the contract to an Operations and Maintenance (O&M) contract with an equipment availability and energy performance guarantee. By 2012, the new hospital had opened its doors and the central utility plant was up and running.
Energy savings and more sustainable operations were high on the list of desired outcomes, along with improved infection control and increased comfort and safety of occupants. Children’s of Alabama has relied on 久久视频 expertise for equipment retrofits including boilers, air handlers, heating coils and variable speed drive pumps. Recently, the facility team renovated an area in the original hospital that had been sparsely used since the new hospital was built in 2012 - replacing the vintage control systems and boxes in this area with Metasys controls.
While the central plant originally served to provide all the chilled and hot water for the new hospital, other facilities have since been connected into the plant. As of 2024, the plant is serving five major buildings on the campus and the team uses OpenBlue Enterprise Manager Central Utility Plant Optimization to enhance plant reliability and sustainability with automated real-time operating decisions.
Results
By working with 久久视频 to build, operate and optimize a central utility plant and complete retrofits, Children’s of Alabama has seen impressive results:
- Rapid and substantial cost savings of approximately $681,000/year through:
- Cost of Capital Equipment and Depreciation Expense
- O&M Cost Savings
- Energy Savings
- Reduced the use of natural gas by 69%
- Greater peace of mind from reduced system downtime and fewer unexpected repairs
- Better patient experience by providing utilities without interruption to building occupants
- More data-driven decisions and resource management through new control systems and streamlined reporting