Providence, RI – Home & Hospice Care of Rhode Island’s new headquarters and hospice facility has been awarded LEED Gold certification as established by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and verified by the Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI). It is the first healthcare facility in the state to achieve LEED certification. To date, Rhode Island has 15 LEED certified buildings, and Home & Hospice is only the second to achieve Gold level certification.
Opened in June 2009, Home & Hospice Care of Rhode Island is a four-story, 50,000 s.f. building that houses the administrative offices, 24-bed Philip Hulitar Inpatient Center, and community and education spaces of the state’s largest and most comprehensive provider of hospice and palliative care. The project team of Home & Hospice Care of Rhode Island, Vision 3 Architects, and New England Construction originally targeted Silver certification, but ultimately was able to achieve Gold.
“We are extremely proud to achieve Gold certification,” says Diana Franchitto, President and CEO of Home & Hospice Care of Rhode Island. “Our goal was to be as responsible as possible to the health and well being of our patients, staff, the environment, and our neighbors. We chose to pursue mid to high level LEED certification as a quantifiable means of achieving that goal.”
“The first major sustainable design decision Home & Hospice Care of Rhode Island made was to reuse existing land and building stock,” said John Pignataro, President of New England Construction, general contractor for the project. “This greatly reduces the impact on the environment. And by selecting an urban site, staff and visitors have walking access to local services such as banks and restaurants, as well as two major bus routes.”
Since Home & Hospice Care of Rhode Island is a healthcare provider, design emphasis was placed on indoor environmental air quality and high performance ventilation systems. “We designed the building to be as healthy and comfortable as possible for its occupants,” states Keith Davignon, Principal of Vision 3 Architects. “First we specified low-VOC (volatile organic compounds) paints, carpets, and furniture to reduce the quantity of indoor air contaminants that are irritating or harmful. Second, high performance heating and ventilation systems provide 30% more outdoor air than code requires. Individual controls on these systems ensure user comfort.”
During construction, New England Construction implemented an Indoor Air Quality Management Plan to reduce air quality problems that could occur once the building was occupied. “Strict implementation of this plan,” said Pignataro, “ensured that there was no construction debris or dust in the ventilation systems once the building was in use.”
And now that the building is up and running, Home & Hospice Care of Rhode Island is doing their part to continue their commitment to sustainability. “We have implemented a ‘Green Clean’ program,” states Franchitto. “Using only green cleaning materials means we reduce harmful chemicals and odors being released into our facility, and ultimately the surrounding environment.”
Home & Hospice Care of Rhode Island has also signed a four year contract with a renewable energy provider to obtain 35% of their power from renewable sources.
Other sustainable design features include a reflective roof to prevent heat absorption; low-flow water fixtures with motion sensors; underground water storage systems which collect, treat, and return rainwater to underground aquifers; diversion of 91% of construction and demolition debris from landfills; new materials with recycled content; and views to the outdoors from 90% of the occupied spaces within the building.
“From the start, our goal was to create a sustainable facility that matched our philosophy about the natural circle of life,” states Franchitto. “With the creativity and guidance of Vision 3 and New England Construction, we not only achieved our goal, we surpassed it.”
